Twilight's Vengeance
by eileen123dt
Summary: The world is plunged into all of darkness and the only chance at salvation is a teenage goat herder, Link. He must find a way to not only save Hyrule, but deal with his difficult partner Midna and his mysterious pal Sheik. Twilight Princess AU with Hyrule Warriors crossover. Zelink.
1. The List of Dumb Things

Link had done plenty of dumb things in his life. Try to jump hurdles meant for a horse? Of course. Accidentally tripped on a chicken and had a chicken army cast unto him? Unfortunately. Bought a slingshot just to impress the little kids of Ordon? Yeah, like an hour ago. But Link had finally found a task that would rise to the top of the list of dumb thing: running into Faron Woods alone and armed with a wooden sword. To save one of those little kids of Ordon. Smart move? No. But he was in and there was no turning back now.

To be fair, it wasn't totally his fault. Talo, the small child in need of rescue, had decided to run into those very same Faron Woods to chase a monkey. And with a stick? What was he thinking? Man, you show the kid a couple of strikes and suddenly he thinks he can take on the world. Or at least a monkey.

At least the other three, Beth and Malo and Colin, were safe. Colin had been the only smart one or just too afraid. Beth only chased after Talo a little before giving up. Malo, Talo's little brother, had gone a little further but still had no idea where Talo had gone. Not very helpful but at least they were safe.

Link trekked up the path to Faron Woods, looking around behind trees and things to see if Talo was maybe hiding. No luck. He came to the end of the path to find a gate blocking the next part of the trail. He walked up and tried to climb over, but was met with wire that poked his hands and would probably impale him if he put too much weight on them.

 _Damn_ , he thought, turning to see if there was anything he could use. Bad luck struck again. He sighed, put his fingers to his mouth and let out a painfully loud whistle. The sound echoed loudly around the trees and Link waited.

Soft trotting sounded up to him and he looked up to greet Epona, his horse. Link gave her a quick pat for answering so quickly and climbed in the saddle. Now, while Link was not so lucky with jumping over horse hurdles (the reason it was on the list of dumb things), Epona could handle them no problem. They'd had lots of practice down at the Ordon Goat Ranch where Link worked.

Guiding Epona a few steps back, he whooped and she rushed toward the gate. She smoothly leapt across it and landed gracefully. Link gave her an extra pat as a reward. He supposed all that practice up at the ranch had paid off.

He dismounted and led her over to a waterfall for a fresh drink. Leaving her alone, he took his wooden sword out and checked his surroundings. Obviously Talo had gone this way (although it was a wonder to how he got past the gate), but he still didn't seem to be anywhere. A path on Link's side caught his attention and he carefully stepped toward it. The woods were well-known for its dangers. Rumors had been spread about potential monsters spreading around. Even Bokoblins, which Link had never seen. Only Ordon's swordsman, Rusl, had ever really seen any monsters before. Rusl described Bokoblins as "blue goblin-looking things, about the size of a grown man". Link hoped they hadn't found their way into the woods.

Luckily, no monsters appeared when he rounded the corner of the side path he found. Instead of an end, he found two more paths: a dark and scary cave; or a nice safe clearing. Link decided to make a smart decision for once and headed over to the safe clearing.

No luck. Dark, creepy cave it was. He'd kill for a lantern or torch, but the best he could do was his pack of matches from Epona's saddle bag.

Link made his way into the deep dark scary tunnel and immediately found that, yes, it had been smart to grab matches. He grabbed it from his hip and struck it against the walls. It caught fire just in time to see a bat soar down and scratch at Link's arm.

"Ah!" The match fell into the dirt, and Link winced as he held his arm. Not a bad scratch, but stung a little. He'd need his sword if he was going to get through without rabies.

Link struck up another match and held it between his teeth, freeing up his hands for his sword. Another (or the same) bat flew down again and Link smacked it just in time. The sound of its body hitting the blade was dull and unpleasant. The bat retreated for a second then attacked again. This time, Link threw more force into his strike. The bat let out a squeal and fell onto the ground, dead.

Link sighed in relief. His first ever monster, if a bat counts as a monster. He supposed it counted more as just a creature. Monster implied more malicious intent, although that cut the bat gave him was pretty rude. He decided that he didn't enjoy killing the bat and seeing its body hit the ground was a little sickening, but that's just how it was. Link tightened his grip on the sword and tried to ignore the idea of Talo getting cuts too. The faster he got to the kid, the faster he could make sure he was safe.

A cracking sound beneath Link's feet echoed around the tunnel walls. He looked down and recognized the stick broken beneath his foot. It had been Talo's stick, the one he chased after the monkey with. Link felt his heart drop a little. Not only was Talo on his own, but now he had absolutely nothing to defend himself. Sure, a stick wasn't much, but at least it had been something.

Link pressed on, more determined now. A few more bats targeted him but he got used to slashing them in one hit. He encountered a few rats as well along with a plant that popped out and snapped at him. The rats were easy; the plant was a little harder, requiring more effort and strikes at its stem before it collapsed. Link grit his teeth at the sight of the blood on his sword. Not a sight he would want to get used to. He couldn't imagine what kind of toll all this death took on the Hyrulean soldiers. Fortunately for him, goat herding was much less gruesome.

* * *

After going through half his matches, the tunnel finally led to another open clearing, much more tree-friendly than the last. Link gazed in awe of the gigantic trees covering the space. There were a number of different stumps or hills that looked almost reachable, if you could jump far enough. But Link decided not to risk it; he could save the exploring for later, after Talo was safe.

Sword in hand, he walked along the trees until movement caught his eye. He turned towards it and accidentally let out a gasp before ducking behind a tree.

A Bokoblin. It had to be. It was blue and vaguely goblin-ish, taller than Link. It had a club-like weapon in its hand and looked like it knew how to use it. Link swallowed nervously, getting the idea that the Bokoblin must've had a lot more experience with some dirty club than Link and his sword. He decided to try and outsmart it and tried to figure out a plan. Hopefully it hadn't noticed him. Perhaps he could sneak past; there were plenty of trees for cover, and-

A scream and a whack sounded behind him, and he jumped at the sound. Ah. So it had noticed him. Link felt frozen in fear and his sword hung limply at his side. The Bokoblin screamed and swung again. Link unfroze with barely enough time to duck. He crouched low and jabbed his sword up into its stomach.

The Bokoblin let out another scream but in pain this time. Link seized his chance and slashed at its stomach more, until it fell to the ground. Blood poured from its wounds and it stopped breathing moments after.

Link stumbled back in shock, dropping his sword and leaning on a stump. His hands were splattered with black blood. He felt sick again, this time much worse than the bat. The intensity of the fight almost sent him into a panic and he held his head in his hands. He tried to take a few deep breaths to calm himself, but they all felt shaky. After a minute or so he was able to breathe normally again.

He bent to pick up his sword and had to swallow back the bile that rose in his throat. The blade was coated in the Bokoblin's thick and dark blood. Taking another breath, he shook his head and grabbed the sword. He wiped the blade as best he could on the grass and marched on past the corpse he had just left behind.

He was more careful this time, ducking behind trees and staying quiet. Up ahead he saw a Bokoblin guarding a locked gate. Maybe he could sneak past this one successfully. He moved against the far corner and immediately stepped on the crunchiest leaf in the whole fucking world.

The Bokoblin turned in his direction and he ducked into a hole in the rock walls, hoping it would provide him cover. If he was lucky, the Bokoblin would think it was just a squirrel and leave it alone. But the heavy breathing sounding behind him indicated that he wasn't safe, even if the Bokoblin had decided on the squirrel theory.

Link turned to find another Bokoblin with a key dangling from its belt. He made the connection instantly, assuming the key unlocked the gate that the other Bokoblin was guarding. Talo was likely behind that gate. Therefore, Link would need that key. He had to kill yet another Bokoblin.

Taking a deep breath in preparation, he lunged at the monster and landed a strike on its arm. The Bokoblin responded with a jab to Link's side that he barely evaded. He rolled to the side until he was behind the Bokoblin and a few strikes to the back finished the fight. The Bokoblin fell dead at his feet. Link bent down and rummaged for the key, cringing as he felt the warm blood touch his hand. More bile came up in his throat.

He grabbed the key and left the hollow, not bothering to sneak towards the guard. It came running and screaming at him. Link dodged its first attack and slashed its side, causing it to fall on the ground. He then stabbed it right through the back. The Bokoblin's final scream made Link want to crawl in a hole and die. He had heard animals in pain before, but usually he was not the one causing that pain. Especially a fatal one.

He yanked his sword out of the body and cleaned the blackened blade off on the Bokoblin's clothes. Link walked up to the gate and unlocked it, hoping Talo was not too much further away. It was already getting dark, and the woods would only get more dangerous at night.

A short walk and two more Bokoblins down led Link to a small area. He smiled in relief and almost dropped his sword as he saw Talo in the distance. But with a closer look, his grip tightened in rage.

Talo was in a wooden cage with the monkey he had been chasing. Two Bokoblins guarded the cage and he could see Talo shaking in fear. Link would have to take on both at once to save him.

Before he could think further, Talo saw him in the distance. "Link! Help!" he cried out, shaking the bars of the small cage. The two Bokoblins turned immediately to where Talo was yelling.

Link grit his teeth and ran up to the monsters. He jabbed at one before it could swing but felt a sharp pain in his back. The other Bokoblin had also attacked and hit his mark. Link could feel the blood trickle down his back.

He stuck his sword out and summoned what strength he could before launching into a spin attack. It hit both Bokoblins, sending one off the edge and slicing the other in the throat. It fell to the ground and blood poured onto the dirt.

Link took a heavy breath and turned to Talo. "Duck."

Talo crouched down and pulled the monkey with him obediently.

Link whacked at the bars of the cage and it fell apart with ease. The monkey jumped and clapped in joy before running off into the woods.

Talo rushed up to Link's side and hugged his legs, still shaken by the encounter. His big eyes stared at the fallen Bokoblin, which still had blood trickling from its neck.

"Can you take me home?" he looked up at Link.

Link smiled down at him and patted his back reassuringly. "Of course."

* * *

The walk back to Ordon was silent and fast. Talo kept his head down and stayed close to Link, jumping at every noise he heard. Link hoped that Talo wouldn't have nightmares about the day's events. When they reached the entrance to Ordon, Talo stopped and stared up at Link worriedly.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't of gone. The monkey is actually pretty nice. She tried to protect me and everything." Talo let out a nervous cough. "But if you hadn't been there, I might've ended up eaten or something. But.."

Link raised a questioning eyebrow at the kid as he trailed off. "I'm not going to tell your parents, don't worry."

Talo relaxed and smiled gratefully at Link. "Well, thanks." he waved goodbye and started off to his house just as Rusl walked up to Link.

"I came once I heard, but looks like you found Talo already" Rusl stated. "That shouldn't have fallen onto you. I'm sorry."

Link shrugged. "Had to be done."

"Yes. I just wish it had been me and not you," Rusl sighed, turning towards the woods. "It's been getting more and more dangerous out there. Makes me uneasy. Was it bad?"

Link looked at the ground. "A little."

Rusl nodded. "I'm sorry you had to do it, then. But thank you." Rusl patted Link's shoulder, his eyes darting down the bloodstains lining Link's clothes. "You should go off to bed. Big day tomorrow, yeah? You'll see Hyrule for the first time. Maybe you'll even get to meet Princess Zelda." Rusl laughed, walking off.

Link laughed too, but brightened at the thought. As he went to bed, he couldn't help wondering if he would get to meet the princess. But dreaming that she would ever want to meet a lowly goat herder like him? That possibly beat going into the woods alone with a wooden sword on the list of dumb things.

* * *

 **I did some minor editing to this first chapter to make it flow a little better. Originally, Link met seller Coro in the woods to get a lantern, a scene pulled from the Twilight Princess game. I like how this version fits much better. Again, very minor scene so nobody might notice the switch. Just a note so re-readers don't get confused! Thank you for viewing!**


	2. Out of Your League

Even though having an important and tiring journey to Hyrule was a totally valid excuse to skip work, Link's coworker Fado did not let him. Which was unfortunate because Link was planning a long nap before leaving. Link had tried to be as persuasive as he could, but Fado stood strong. Very unfair. Fado did agree to let him leave early, but only by about ten minutes. Totally enough time to pack a bag. Paraphrased (with a lot of bias), the conversation had gone a little something like this:

"Hey Fado, you know that long trip I need to make tonight to deliver a package that will represent the whole town and that the mayor is counting on me for?"

"What about it?"

"Well. I might need the day off to pack and get ready."

"What about the goats?"

"I feel like this is more important, Fado."

"Nothing is as important as goats. How dare you say such a thing."

"Fado please. Don't be ridiculous."

"The goats would miss you."

"What?"

"Do it."

"Please-"

"Fantastic! So we'll finish up ten minutes early so you can get ready."

"That's not enough time-"

"Less talking, more working!"

And so. Here Link was, at the Ordon goat ranch. Contrary to Fado's claim, the goats had definitely not missed Link. Two had tried to headbutt and he was pretty sure they weren't trying to be affectionate. His job consisted of watching goats all day and then herding them back inside the barn once it got late. It was like watching grass grow, but the goats ate the grass, so it became watching grass shrink. It was so boring that Link started thinking that Fado had forced him out here just to avoid Fado being bored alone. This was going to be their career for basically the rest of their lives. He didn't know which was worse, having a too-difficult job, or having one that's too easy. And Link would probably never find out.

After finally herding up the goats for the night, Link led Epona down the path back into main Ordon village. Although watching more grass shrink had been as fun as ever, he was eager to do something exciting for once. Epona trotted her way down to the mayor's house where the mayor and his daughter Ilia were standing.

Link waved to them and he saw Ilia's face light up once she saw him. Or it might've been because of Epona. Ilia was a huge animal lover and would fawn over Epona any chance she could. She was always very sweet to animals but not so much to people. Link had witnessed her temper first-hand plenty of times. They were the only two teenagers in Ordon so most the village assumed that they would end up together. To be fair, Link and Ilia did spend a lot of time together, but Link figured Ilia was more interested in Epona than him. Besides, he could never handle her temper. She was really sweet usually, but was quite a handful when she was upset. And Link did not want to hold that hand, nor did he think he could survive it.

Ilia ran up to Epona just as Link approached. She flashed a smile over at him and he nodded back in greeting.

"Father, he's here." She called out over to her father, who looked zoned out. He snapped back into reality and came up to greet Link.

"Sorry if I'm a little late." Link said as he hopped down from Epona's saddle. Ilia took some sugar cubes from her pocket and cooed over Epona, feeding them to her.

"Speaking of which," The mayor motioned for Link to walk with him, "this delivery is very special. Hyrule requested it specifically, and we want to have it perfect for them. Which means…" He stared down Link.

Link swallowed nervously. He had built up quite a reputation for being late over the years. Curse you, oversleeping! "I'll make sure it gets there on time. I promise." He smiled reassuringly up at the mayor.

The mayor nodded back at him, satisfied. "Good."

They turned back to Ilia just in time to see her gasp in horror.

"Link!" She turned to him angrily. "Look at this!"

Link looked over to where she was pointing. A small gash was on one of Epona's front legs. He hadn't noticed it. It would probably heal in a day or so, but he winced in fear of wrath that she would soon unleash upon him. An anger that only few men had survived.

"What happened?" She stomped up to him, her eyes sparking. He blinked, like a deer frozen in carriage lights. It's not like he could just explain what happened yesterday, not in front of the mayor.

Link's silent response only angered her more. "It was from those stupid hurdles, wasn't it! You always push her too hard! Do you even care if she gets hurt?" She shrieked in his face.

"Ilia, she'll be okay…" Link started.

Ilia's face gradually grew more and more red with rage. Link's eyes darted over to her father in a strangled plea for help.

Ilia's father cleared his throat and stepped between the two of them. If she got any more angry, then Link would end up with a lot worse than Epona's scrape. "Now, Ilia-"

"How dare you?!" She seethed at her father. "You're going too easy on him! You always do! You're the mayor here, why don't you start acting like one?" She huffed and turned to Epona, grabbing her reins. "Come, Epona, let's get you to the forest spring." She cooed in a noticeably different (much nicer) voice. She marched away with Link's horse in tow, baby-talking the whole way.

Link and the mayor exchanged helpless looks. If Link couldn't handle Ilia's temper, he could only imagine how bad it must be for her own father to deal with.

Link let out a long sigh. "I'll try to go get her. You just get the package ready, I'll be back as soon as I can."

The mayor gave Link an apologetic look. "Thank you."

Link walked off and huffed in exasperation. This is why he should've had the whole day, not just ten minutes.

Ilia might listen to logic if it came from a small and innocent child. Colin was the best choice for the job and also the only willing volunteer. The other kids had decided that sticks were more interesting. Which may be true, because for most people, retrieving their horse was a simple task. But not when Ilia was around. And also not when your horse was wrongfully taken. Yeah, he probably should've noticed the scrape and all, but it was hardly enough to qualify as animal abuse.

He wasn't usually the one to chase after Ilia when she was upset. Usually Colin was a lot better at handling her. The first time she had stomped, he had gone after her, and ended up with bloody nose. Since then, he didn't make it a habit to go after her whenever she was mad.

Her soft spots seemed to be Epona, but that wouldn't be helpful in this case. There were times Link had been able to make Ilia feel better by letting her ride or groom Epona. That usually cheered her up. Maybe those few minutes Ilia had been with Epona would calm her down a little.

"Link? Should I go ahead?" Colin tugged at his sleeve and asked.

Link nodded back at him and watched as Colin ran up ahead. Ilia wouldn't think anything of it if Colin alone went to see her. But if she saw Link too, she might refuse to even give them a chance.

Usually Link loved going to the forest spring. Some of the village believed the water had some magical didn't really think much of it, but the presence was soothing. There was almost nobody there too. He would go with Epona whenever he wanted to be alone or to think. Unfortunately, today would not be one of those calming experiences.

When he came up to the spring, he found the gate shut and locked. Ilia's doing, The gate was usually open whenever he came. Link peered through the wire and saw Ilia tending to Epona, and Colin standing nearby. Hopefully Ilia was calm enough to let him in. He banged on the gate to get Colin and Ilia's attention and was greeted with more of Ilia's temper.

"I am not letting you in! You need to think about what you've done! Change your attitude and then maybe, just maybe, will I let you in!" She yelled at turned back to Epona.

Colin winced and shared an eye roll with Link. "Go around through the crawlspace. I'll try to explain what happened." He whispered.

Link sighed and headed over to the crawlspace. Oh, the hoops he had to jump through to get his horse. He hated crawlspaces. There was usually some muddy patch or slimy leaves. Once he had even encountered a rat. That had not been an experience he wished to repeat.

After mucking through the too-small tunnel, he popped out inside the forest spring just in time to see Ilia's realization of how bad she fucked up.

She had tears in her eyes after hearing Colin's recount of the adventure yesterday. "I had no idea…"

Link awkwardly stood on the side and Ilia eyes met his. She stiffened and turned back to Epona.

"Lucky for you, the injury isn't too severe." She stated, her voice having a much weaker bite than before. "She should be okay for today's trip."

Link walked towards her and gave a light sigh. "She was walking fine. I didn't think it was a problem."

Ilia huffed but stood down, handing over Epona's bridle to Link. "Just as long as you can promise me something."

Link nodded in response, gently patting Epona.

"It gets pretty dangerous out there sometimes. Just promise me you won't do anything out of your league. Make sure you come home safe." Worry edged at her voice.

Link fought back the urge to roll his eyes. It was sweet that she was concerned for him, but he thought he did pretty well yesterday. He had fought monsters for the first time, and was pretty successful. Minus the back wound. But only one injury wasn't too bad for his first encounter. But he didn't want to worry her any further. "I'll do my best, Ilia."

Ilia sighed in relief and visibly relaxed. "Thank you." She looked up at the darkening sky and looked over at Link. "It's getting late. You should get going."

They both smiled understandingly at each other. He took Epona's reigns in his hands and to the gate just in time to see a boar crash through.

The crash made them all panic and crouch as pieces of wood and wire came flying at them. The thundering hooves of the boar made it almost impossible to hear anything. All they could feel was the sheer panic rushing through their heads.

Link turned to see Ilia and Colin on the ground next to him.

"Go! Run!" He tried to call out, but they both screamed in fear over him. He watched as they struggled to stand, but the vibrations of the boar's hooves made the ground shake too much to stay stable.

The boar couldn't of just crashed through on its own. Boars didn't even live around here. Link turned to the angry beast in confusion and felt the panic increase even further.

Two green Bokoblins were positioned on its back. One armed with a heavy club, the other with a bow. Link had known that green Bokoblins existed. He also knew that the green ones were smarter, more capable than the ones he had fought before. Not only were they smarter and had a steed, but Link wasn't even armed. He wasn't able to protect Colin or Ilia.

"Ilia, Colin! RUN!" He yelled out again, as loud as he could. Ilia must've heard because she turned and nodded at him. She grabbed Colin and started making a break towards the exit and what remained of the gate. But a Bokoblin drew its bow and shot Ilia's leg, causing her to fall over, knocking Colin over as well.

"No!" He began to run towards her, but the boar had ended up beside him. He didn't even see the Bokoblin raise it's club above him . All he could see was his two friends in danger. All he felt was panic and adrenaline. And the last thing he remembered was a sickening thud and an excruciating pain on the back of his skull. After that, the world around him slipped into darkness.

So much for staying in his league.


	3. A Concussion, Maybe

**Hi, author here. Sorry for not updating, I got pretty sick. I made this chapter a little longer to make up for it. Thanks for all your reviews, I love reading them! Enjoy.**

Magic was something Link had heard of, but never thought he would witness. Or fall victim to. He had heard of it from Rusl, who had told him of the various types of magic throughout Hyrule. His favorite story was of the Sheikah, who were fabled to have served as guardians of the Royal Family of Hyrule. Rusl had spoken of their haunting red eyes and expertise as warriors.

But this was not the magic he had known of. This was some kind of curse.

Looking down, all he could see was dirty grey fur and a dull metal chain tight on his foot. Actually, a paw. He had always loved the dog in the village, but he had never wished to be one. But here he was, covered in dark fur, four paws on the ground, and his very own tail.

Link took a second to let the shock set in. Panic raced throughout his body as he fought to decipher this new body. Everything was different. He couldn't even see the world correctly. Instead of the vivid shades he had been able to stare at, he now only saw dull greys and blues. It felt unnatural to try to stand, and he couldn't try anyway because of the heavy chain keeping him to the stone floor.

A chain. Why was he chained? He struggled to remember his last events before waking up in this new form. The last image burned in his mind was Ilia and Colin falling on the ground. Then the world had gone black. His skull ached from feeling the Bokoblin's blow. So where were Ilia and Colin? Were they safe? Or were they somewhere locked in a cell, too?

He decided not to waste any more time thinking. He had to get this chain off if it if he ever wanted to escape. Putting his newer, sharper teeth into action, he latched onto the chain and began biting in a panic.

"I found you." A strange voice sounded from behind him. He jumped and got down to attack, snarling out of instinct at this new… thing in front of him.

She was an odd looking thing, almost like an imp. Her body was short and round and covered in black and white color. Green almost glowing designs covered her arms and ears. She smiled at him, revealing her sharp little teeth. A large grey helm sat atop her head and fiery orange ponytail poked through. Her giant yellow eyes bored into him, almost amused at his obvious confusion and fear.

"Aren't you scary!" She laughed, hovering just an inch or two off the ground. "You sure you want to be snarling at me?"

Link stood firm. Who the fuck was this? And what? Was this the thing that brought him here and locked him up? He flashed his teeth and snarled again, poised to attack if necessary.

"What a shame. I was planning on helping you…" She sighed in mock disappointment, turning her back on him.

Helping? Link reconsidered. He couldn't trust this creature, but he was getting nowhere by himself. He cautiously stood back up and tilted his head at her.

She laughed again, this time at his sudden change of heart. "Much better. You humans are obedient to a fault, aren't you?" Smugness radiated off of her miniature body.

Annoyance built up and Link held back another snarl.

She hovered towards him and smiled. "Aw, but you aren't a human, are you? You're a beast now!" Her arrogant laugh echoed around the cell.

Link felt a rush of anger at snapped at her. She jumped away just in time, now even more amused.

"Now, now, don't bite." She flashed another smile at him and too a deep breath. Her little hands came together and a look of genuine concentration crossed over on her face. A tiny green ball began to form in her hands, and she pushed it towards him, watching as it landed against the chain.

Link held back a yelp in surprise as the chain broke with a loud snap. Okay, now he had gotten to witness magic too. An eventful day. Maybe he was hallucinating. A concussion, maybe.

"Don't look so surprised!" Her laugh sounded again, at least this time less smug. Link blinked and took a step back in fear as black shapes began popping out against her body. She hovered higher. "I bet you're wondering where you are."

Link watched in shock as she burst into bubbles, and reappeared outside his cell door. She smirked again at him in amusement. "Well, maybe if you're smart enough to get out, I'll tell you!"

Link stood in horror for a second at what he had just witnessed. Obviously, it was going to be a long day. The figure hovered outside the door, eyeing his every move. Stress built up as he frantically looked for an escape.

A hole in the corner caught his eye and he stepped over to it. Might as well put his paws to good use, since he had to deal with being a beast now. He pawed at the dirt, and to his surprise, it gave way easily. He pushed more and easily dug through, coming out the other side of the cell wall. Guess being a dog did have some perks.

He looked around, searching for the little imp that helped free him. A sudden weight on his back caused him to yelp and he turned to bite at the attacker, only finding the imp there. What was he, a pony? He barked in protest.

She ignored him. "Guess you aren't so stupid after all!" She settled further on his back, earning another bark from Link. "Here's the deal." She yanked on his ear and leaned in close. "I'll help you, but only if you do exactly as I say." Her voice dropped to a more serious tone. "If you need me, just bark or something. We good? Now, get going!" She let go of his ear.

Link snarled in reluctance. But what choice did he have?

* * *

Exploring his surroundings was step one. There was the cell he had escaped from, and then an empty cell next to it. The room was dark and damp with patches of straw lying around. The musty stench poisoned the room, which was even more unlucky for Link and his heightened sense of smell. The dampness clung to the stone walls and the dripping echoed around the room. His broken chain still clung onto his paw and clanked against the floor with every step he took. There was an exit just a few lengths away, but Link was hesitant to test it. Someone had locked him up, and he was not eager to meet them.

He pushed open the neighboring cell door with his nose and began checking around there. Same patches of straw, but a door was in the back corner of the room. A barrier stood in front. Perhaps this exit was safer.

He looked up and found the lever above him. With a short jump, he snapped at the lever in mid air and clamped it down in his jaws. As he fell back to the ground, he kept a tight grip and dragged the lever down with him. Sure enough, he heard the heavy barrier scrape against the sides of the frame and move up. The little imp clapped politely at his success, earning an eye roll from Link.

He bounded through the small exit and jumped down to a lower level. It was a short jump, and a grate was set high into the wall. More stone covered the walls and pipes stuck out. Almost like a sewer. A shimmering blue flame hovered, hidden in the corner. He paused and carefully approached it, tilting his head in confusion at the little light.

A tap on his back snapped him to attention. "You want to see something interesting?" The imp smirked. "You're a beast now. Try honing your senses. See what happens." She sat back with an air of confidence.

Link closed his eyes and focused. He hadn't given much thought to his new heightened sense, other than smelling the stench in his cell. But even in human form, he would've noticed the smell.

Drawing in on his better senses, he opened his eyes to see the world transformed. The blue flame had become a dim soldier, leaning heavily on his spear for support. The poor man looked exhausted and was shaking, either from the cold or in fear. He seemed to be mumbling something, so Link got closer and listened intently.

"Can't run any further, I'll be safe here, I think…" The soldier muttered between heavy puffs of breath. He suddenly tensed and began looking around frantically, shaking even more in panic. "What's that? Don't come near!" He shouted at no one, the fear clear in his voice. Link tried to bark in an attempt to catch the man's attention, but the soldier didn't seem to hear him. Link tried again by nudging him with his nose, but was shocked when his nose went right through the soldier's body. Was the soldier dead? Was he hearing spirits? The questions raced through his head.

The imp yawned and poked his back again. "That was a soldier's spirit," She whispered. "Maybe it's someone from the other world." She let out a giggle. "There's more down here. They might know some things."

Link shook it off. Other world? She was giving him more questions than answers. He raced down the length of the room and found water rushing in small canals. The musty stench increased and he found more and more grates lining the walls. Black flecks, like the ones that had appeared by the imp when she teleported out of his cell, were rising from the water. Link's instincts screamed danger.

Sure enough, glancing down, he found dark creatures swimming below him. They were small and squid-like with a single evil eye on each of them.

"You can still fight in this new form, you know. Trust your instincts." The imp encouraged.

Link took a breath and poised to fight. He had not wanted to make a habit out of fighting, but it was too late to stop. Targeting the monster, he lunged and caught it in his jaw. He felt his teeth rip through its body and the black blood gush out of his mouth. He spat it out and watched as it shuddered for a second, then accepted death.

Pride and disgust washed over him. He felt animalistic, which wasn't wrong. But at least with the sword it wasn't nearly as barbaric as ripping out a creature's guts. Alas, he had to do what he had to do. The world was succumbing to darkness, and he had to fight any way he could.

As he ran through the rooms, he continued to kill three or four more monsters. Eventually he found another heavy barrier, this one blocking a grate. He could hear more water slapping against the barrier on the other side. On the opposing walkway, spikes lined the floor. He wouldn't be able to get over them by jumping, and he couldn't walk over them. Raising the water level seemed to be the only solution. He yanked at another level and watched the barrier rise and water flood in.

Another polite clap from the imp sounded. With another eyeroll, he swam over the spikes and toward two other shimmering blue flames he saw in the distance.

He approached the first to find a soldier cowering, crying over the black monsters swimming in the waters. The other spirit was also afraid. Link understood that the spirits could see the monsters, but for some reason, the could not see him or the imp. How strange this 'other world' was. And he had only seen soldiers; where was he?

Eventually with pulling more levers and killing a few more monsters, he found his way to a circular room with the imp. Broken stairs spiraled around the walls. Water flooded the very bottom of the room, but the smell wasn't as present here. The ceiling was high and he could smell fresher air beyond. They must be close to an exit.

He trotted up the stairs as best he could, but the gaps of broken parts were too far for him to jump. Upon this realization, the imp sighed.

"Do I have to do everything for you?" She grumbled, hovering over to the next stable part of the spiraling staircase. "Focus on me. Then jump."

Link gave his own internal sigh and frustration, but followed along and jumped to her. To his surprise, it worked. He would've been much more appreciative towards her if she didn't treat him like some sort of stupid scum.

After many jumps and almost falling a few times, they finally reached the top and an exit to the outside. But not the fresh outside air he was expecting.

The view would have been spectacular, if not for the dull sky and rain and threatening dragon-like monsters flying above. Before him was a castle. It was gigantic, much bigger than any building he had ever seen. The tops were carefully crafted with beautiful details. The stone and roof work before him was intricate and made of high quality, expensive material. The castle looked almost familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Isn't the black cloud of twilight just beautiful today?" The imp relaxed and seemed pleased while she stared at the sky. "Still don't know where we are, do you? There's someone I'd like you to meet. See that tower?" She pointed to the highest tower. It came to a sharp point at the top and had beautiful windows adorned on the outside. "Go there."

Link growled again at taking orders, but he supposed she was helping him. Even if she was a brat about it.

He tiptoed over the rooftops slowly and carefully as not to fall. The ground was far,far below the rooftops, and he wasn't planning on dying. Honestly, he always thought he would die of a ram crushing him. He had never thought of anything like this.

Another spirit stood before him, shaking and ducking in fear. "Damn these monstrous birds! Our poor Hyrule Castle!"

Hyrule Castle. So that's where he had been taken. Dread made a pit at the bottom of his stomach. How could this be? Their military was brave, unmatched by the surrounding territories. What was this 'other world'? Who was doing this?

He looked toward the tower, with it's stunning windows. Was the princess safe?

New motivation crept in and he raced towards the tower. The dragon-like monsters didn't stand a chance, although they were much harder to defeat than the squid-like ones from the waters. His recklessness almost made him fall off the roof, even.

The imp pushed him towards an open window. No glass covered it, so he assumed it had been shattered by whatever monster had attacked the beloved Hyrule Castle. He had never been told any stories of the heinous black monsters he had encountered. Who could this be? He leapt through the window in a rush to find any answers he could.

Safe from the rain's downpour, he shook off his fur. His leap was greeted by yet another spiral staircase. The same dark stone covered the walls, but it was not dripping and musty like the sewer had been. He knew by instinct that this was the princess's tower.

He raced up the staircase and pushed his way through the door at the top. He came out into a bedroom, he supposed. A bed was pushed to the side. A fireplace crackled on the wall. Pictures and metal symbols covered the walls, and two scenic window on the far side of the room was the only source of light.

He almost didn't notice the cloaked figure standing there.


	4. The Return of the Thumbs

**Have some bloopers**

" **Bork bork", he say.**

 **She must've done something to cause the terrible dankness**

 **He analyzed the duddette in front of him**

Fortunately for Link, the cloaked figure hadn't noticed him yet. A million thoughts raced through his head. Who was this? Had they done something with the princess? Were they behind the darkness? He crouched into attack position, and prepared for another fight.

The imp on his back giggled at his growl. The figure heard and turned towards them but did not strike as he thought it would. Instead of being met with another monster, a human stood in front of him with only the tip of its nose showing through the gap between the hood and collar. The figure tilted the cloak hood back to see who the visitors were.

The figure's lack of aggression set Link back to a normal stance, but he kept himself guarded. Instead, he analyzed the non-monster in front of him. The few parts of the face he could see were clearly feminine, with very fair skin and delicate features. Her pale eyes were shadowed by a distinct sadness and something like guilt.

"Midna?' Confusion sounded in her voice, with maybe a hint of shock.

Who the hell was Midna?

"You remember my name? What an honor! I feel so blessed!" The imp gasped dramatically.

Ah, that's who the hell was Midna.

Midna, the newly named imp, dug her heels into his ribs, urging him towards the young woman. She stared down at him as he approached her. She seemed to be analyzing every aspect of him in an oddly creepy way.

"So this is who you were searching for." She nodded down at him in approval. Link felt his guard drop a little at the appreciation she showed.

"Well, he's not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess he'll do." Midna sighed in disappointment. Link's bit of happy appreciation disappeared.

She crouched down to meet Link at eye-to-eye level, looking down at the chain still on his paw. The guilt in her eyes deepened.

"You were imprisoned?" Her voice broke for a second. She quickly turned away from him, recollecting herself. "I am sorry."

Link tilted his head in confusion at this person before him. They had only just met, yet she showed so much remorse for him. What did she know that he didn't?

"Poor thing, he barely knows anything. Don't you think you owe him an explanation, your highness?" Midna interrupted, her tone condescending.

Link took a second to process. This was the princess? Princess Zelda? He mentally slapped himself. Of course this was the princess. They were in Hyrule Castle. They were in the princess's room. And there was a young woman in front of him who matched the age and description of Princess Zelda. Link wondered if perhaps maybe that blow to the head had caused some brain damage. He found himself much more in awe of her presence than before, now knowing she was royalty.

Princess Zelda looked down in shame after Midna's words. Obviously she must've done something to cause the terrible darkness surrounding the castle. That explained why she felt so much guilt, too.

The princess sighed and turned to Link. "Listen carefully. Hyrule has been transformed by the king that rules the Twilight. He has turned it into a world of shadows, ruled by creatures who shun the light. They attacked us, even making it to the throne room. I remember it clearly."

She faltered for a second before continuing. "I had maybe forty soldiers in front of me. Our army was already greatly weakened by their attacks. His monsters poured in, easily overpowering them all. I remember hearing the screams and watching the blood pour. His monsters were vicious. They showed no mercy, even when my soldiers begged for their lives."

Coldness crept in her tone and her body tensed in anger. "His monsters killed all but my two royal guards. He offered me a deal, to surrender or die. I chose to surrender. My people were plunged into Twilight and all they know now is fear. And I remain here, under the watchful eye of his guards. There is nothing I can do." She stared hopelessly out the window, watching the raindrops hit the glass.

Link now realized the severity of the situation. All of his friends and anyone he had ever known were now reduced to those flickering blue flames, like the soldiers in the sewers. Sickness built in his stomach as he thought of little Colin and Ilia living in perpetual fear. What was going to happen? Would they be saved?

"You don't need to be sad! I, for one, quite like living in the twilight!" Midna said cheerfully.

Princess Zelda turned to her with anger flashing in her eyes. "This is no time for jokes, Midna. The monsters are after you, too. Why?"

Midna gave a lighthearted shrug. "Who knows?"

The princess narrowed her eyes in suspicion at Midna, but turned away. "Time is running short. The guard will soon check on me. You must leave."

Link hesitated but a sharp jab from Midna pushed him towards the door. The rush of adrenaline returned as he heard the guard's footsteps just past the staircase.

"Quick, through the window!" Midna whispered hurriedly.

With a leap, he was safely out of the tower and out of the guard's point of view. Relief flooded through him. Still, he couldn't shake how sad the princess had seemed. He could only imagine how heavy the guilt weighed on her.

* * *

The rooftop was as welcoming as ever. He hovered just out of view of the window to let the heavy information settle in his mind.

The world as he knew it was falling apart. His friends, in danger. And for some god-forsaken reason, he hadn't been turned into a blue spirit. Instead, he was a wolf, now following orders from some Midna creature. Was he the only wolf here? Why was he spared?

Midna hopped off his back and faced him. She seemed like she had answers, but barking wasn't a great way of asking questions. And anyway, she didn't seem to like giving answers. Even Princess Zelda couldn't pry them from her. He might just have to figure out these things on his own. For now, he just had to deal with the problem at hand.

The largest problem should've been the world in danger, but the only thing sticking in Link's head was his home, his friends. The people he grew up with and the people that raised him when his parents failed to. Colin, who looked up to him, and Ilia, the closest thing he had to a sister. He knew it wasn't his fault that the bokoblins had taken them. And yet, the guilt was crushing. He should've tried hard, reacted faster. If there was any way to fix this, he had to take that chance.

He growled roughly, shaking the thoughts from his head and the rain off his fur. Midna stood in front of him and eyed him carefully. She chewed her lip in thought as she stared him down. Judgement hung in the air around her.

"Do you understand where we are now?" She asked. Her tone was light but her eyes hung heavy. "A promise is a promise, so I could bring you back to where you were before you tumbled into twilight."

Link stood firm. As tempting as just going back to normal was, Colin and Ilia's terrified faces were etched in his mind.

Midna tilted her head. "Or would you rather do something more… important?"

Link gave a deep growl and put his paw forward. The metal chain sounded against the roof.

Midna's face brightened. "You want to save them?"

Link barked with strength. He was desperately hoping it sounded like a yes.

Midna's smirk appeared on her face. "In that case, I'd be happy to help! As long as you'll be my servant, and do exactly what I say!"

Link rolled his eyes.

She laughed. "Well, why don't I give you some time to think it over?"

And with the slightest wave of her hand, the world went black and Link felt the roof disappear from under him.

* * *

He definitely did not yelp as he free-fell through a dark endless tunnel. Except it did end, and in about a second, there was ground.

"So much for being a hero." He thought as he braced for impact. Fortunately, his fall slowed and landed him gently on the ground. His stomach, however, was still doing flips. He had to force himself to swallow the bile rising in his throat. Perhaps dark scary portals just weren't for him.

Once his mind got back into focus, he realized how wet his paws were. The pool of water and the waterfall before him were the very same as Ordon's forest spring. This was the exact spot from which bokoblins had broken through. He spun to look towards the gate, still in pieces from the boar's strength. The spring looked like it hadn't been touched since the bokoblins came through.

A flash of light blinded the poor wolf. Link jumped back and let out a whine, lowering his head to protect his eyes.

"Ah! So you're the chosen one. Oh, you poor dear." An ancient voice echoed around him. "Oh, honey, you must be so confused."

Link lifted his head to the bright light. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw a glowing creature before him. It looked almost familiar. Giant antlers held a ball of light and attached to a wolf-like body. It looked like one of the pictures he had seen in an old folk story. The legends of the light spirits that would protect Hyrule.

"I am Ordona, one of the four light spirits that protect these lands, a task given by the hands of the gods." The blinding light prevented him from seeing the creature's face, but he could've sworn it smiled at him.

"The power of shadow has changed your form. It is that very same power that has stolen the light from my fellow spirits. The king of twilight is hungry for this land, and he is the cause of this. He craves power. He has already taken over the kingdom, and he will continue until he has taken over the entire world of light. I'm sorry, young one." Ordona said. "But you've been chosen by the gods for this task. You must save Hyrule and prevent the world falling into darkness."

Link sat in the pond, stunned. Him? But he was just a goat farmer. He wasn't anything special. He had never fought, never even traveled outside his little town.

Ordona smiled understandingly. "I know, sweetheart. It's not fair. You are so young, but the gods see such bravery inside you. I can see it sparking. You have true power, but you haven't quite discovered it yet. You must trust the gods' decision. If not, the world will fall into darkness." Ordona bowed her head. "I'm afraid we're all relying on you. But not to worry, brave one. We will help as best we can."

"To help defeat this evil, you must revive the other light spirits across the land. There are three: Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru. You may recognize Faron from your very own Faron Woods. You must clear the twilight there first. If you succeed, not only will your land's light be restored, but you will also return to your human form."

Link ears perked up at that. He was really starting to miss his thumbs.

"The king's shadow-beings run in these areas. You must be careful. But to defeat the twilight, you must find the evil creature that resides in the twilight. I am afraid I do not know what it looks like. You must find it and kill it. Only then will you bring back the light to Faron." Ordona lifted it's heavy horns. "I know this is a lot to ask. But I believe in you, young one. It's confusing and it'll be such a difficult journey, but it's all up to you."

With that closing statement, Ordona's bright light flashed again. Link whined and turned his head away. A moment later, he opened them to find the spirit gone.

Link paced the cool water of the pool, sniffing the air to see if he could catch Ordona's scent. Nothing. The light spirit had completely disappeared. He knew little about the four light spirits, even after growing up with folk tales about them. He could only assume Ordona was telling the truth. After all, the desperation in Ordona's voice had seemed genuine.

Midna's voice cut through the stunned silence. "If you want to get back into your human form, you're gonna need to listen carefully. Just beyond the bridge outside this spring, there's twilight. You'll need me in order to get in and clear it out. But first, we're going to need a shield and a sword."

Link barked in frustration. Where the hell was he going to get that?

Midna's laugh echoed. "Oh, hush. I didn't mean go and get them."

Before him, a familiar sword and shield appeared and clattered to the ground.

"Oh, you recognize them? We're 'borrowing' them from your buddy Rusl." Midna said mischievously. "Never you mind. He wasn't doing a very good job, anyway."

Link gave a small whimper, confused.

"Oh, that's right. You don't know." Midna's tone dropped. "It wasn't just your friends that were with you that got grabbed. The other children are missing, too. Your town keeps getting hurt trying to find them. But don't worry! Once you save them, they'll stop searching. Use this for motivation or whatever."

Link growled at her but yeah, she had a point. The faster he cleared the twilight out here, the faster his people would stop getting hurt. He nosed the sword and shield on the ground. It's not like he had a way to carry them.

To his shock, his shadow popped up and shaped into Midna's form. A small yelp escaped yet again that day.

"I'll hold onto these. And yes, I'm still here. But I'll only come out when I need to tell you something or you call me. Deal?" Midna asked, raising her hand in a mock handshake.

Link gave a bark and a nod.

"Perfect! Now, hurry up!" The shadow fell back onto the ground.

Link took a deep breath and sped towards the twilight.

* * *

Once he stepped foot (or paw) in Faron Woods, he knew something was wrong. These were not the same woods he had saved Talo from. Something horribly evil and dark had entered. He could feel it in the air.

Fog hung over the trees instead of the sun pushing through the leaves. Shadows filled in the world around him, obscuring all the normal scenery he had encountered before. Although he had visited the woods only a few days ago, the terrain was different. The smells were different.

Pushing forward down the path, his surroundings remained hazy and unclear. The rocks towered over at strange angles and casted even more shadows. He could hear a faint whine through the air, getting louder and louder as he continued down the worn dirt path.

"You hear that? That's sound of the spirit whose light was stolen…" Midna trailed off.

Link shuddered. Was it in agony? Or was it just the sadness of not being able to protect the world?

He crept closer and closer to the sound. Whispers filled the air from the trees, distorting his hearing. He could've sworn he heard a squirrel speak. Eventually, he reached a clearing where he determined the whine was the strongest.

"These woods have changed…"

Link tilted his head, straining to hear the words of the fallen Faron. He followed the sound to another waterfall and pool. A faint light, similar to Ordona's, hovered above the falls.

"Be careful. Look for my light. The darkness is so very close…"

Link could hear the weakness in Faron's voice. The loss of the light must have been painful, or perhaps Faron's life was tied to this light. He tried to give a reassuring bark.

"Cross the poison...past the caves. Please, young one…" Faron's voice trailed off.

Link tried to hear more, but the voice fell back into a faint whine. Faron must've used it's last bit of energy to help him.

The caves? Link cocked his head, pacing back and forth in front of the pool. When he had gone to save Talo, he had to pass through that creepy cave-like tunnel. That was really the only way he could think of that would lead somewhere. But there was no lake beyond that, just a clearing. He kept wracking his brain trying to think of where a lake would be, other than the pool before him.

The least he could do was look around that cave tunnel to find something. Faron did say the woods had changed; perhaps there was a new entrance to a lake? Shaking his head, Link headed out toward the caves. The gates in front of the tunnel were locked, just like before, but he dug under. Maybe he didn't need to miss the thumbs so much.

Upon the entrance of the tunnel, a bat swooped at him. Link was better prepared for these attacks and made a quick kill of it, wincing at the taste of blood on his jaws. But he wasn't prepared for just how many bats and spiders had found home in this cave. Before, he could've sworn it was just a few animals to kill. But the twilight appeared to have attracted even more monsters than before. Maybe the dark and evil air welcomed monsters.

Link nosed every wall and rock in the tunnel. No luck on finding any entrances. His focus on finding the lake distracted him, and a few monsters had landed some hits. He needed to get away or he'd get too wounded to even touch this dark creature, whatever it was. He had to keep looking for this supposed poison lake.

He exited the tunnel to the clearing he had remembered, just beyond the exit. But a foul smell attacked his senses. Peering over the clearing, he discovered he wasn't searching for some hidden lake at all. It was a flood.

The trees below were darkened. The poison must be coming up through the roots and weakening the nature surrounding Faron Woods. The rocks were smaller, sharper. The poison must be slowly corroding the rocks. He could only imagine what the small pebbles and grass at the bottom had turned into. Sludge, maybe? He could almost taste how acidic the poison was just off the scent alone. He wouldn't dare touch it. The toxic smell hovered over the entire clearing. When Link dared to look at the water, it gave off a strange purple glow. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

"So… somehow you have to clear this." Midna's familiar weight rested on his back, returning to her seat she had used back at Hyrule Castle. "Look at the trees. You think you can make it across?"

Link scanned the weak trees, searching for branches that looked like they could hold his weight. Maybe. One nearby looked sturdy enough, at least.

He calmed down his breathing and backed up to give himself enough space to leap. With a swift jump, he landed on the branch. He heard it crack under his weight, but not enough to break.

"See, and there's one over there! Keep going!" Midna patted his back encouragingly.

He leapt again, and again, until he got halfway across the flooding. There seemed to be no sturdy branches in sight, only weak ones.

"What are you waiting for?" Midna grumbled, pointing at the nearest one.

Link growled. It wouldn't hold his weight.

Midna began yanking on his ear. "You're gonna have to face a lot more dangers than this. Let's go already!"

Link barked in frustration. He had no other options.

He steadied himself and jumped, landing as lightly as he could. The branch made a horrifying sound but held up.

"See?" Midna taunted.

Link rolled his eyes. Preparing to jump again, he pushed his weight down and-

Came crashing into the purple waters below.

It stung. Burned. He whimpered and yipped, almost blinded by the pain he was in. The water was seeping into his ears and his throat as he desperately tried to stay above. He could faintly hear Midna's voice over his own cries of pain.

"-this way!" He heard her shout.

He paddled through and did his best to ignore the burning he felt with every second. After what seemed like ages, he hit a rock.

"Up, up!" She cried.

Link hefted himself up on the rock, ignoring it's sharp edged poking and cutting into his skin. At last, after he was fully out of the lake, the burning began to subside.

"Stupid wolf…" Midna muttered. He lifted his head and bared his teeth in annoyance. It was her damn fault. How the hell was he going to fight, after all that?

"Look, you've got one more tree to jump to. Then we're across. You paddled pretty far." Midna ignored his anger.

After a few rough breaths, he started to stand. His legs still wobbled from the toll the poison had taken on his body. If he didn't have the fur protecting him, the damage could've been much worse. After a few more minutes, his legs stopped shaking. His mind still felt fuzzy and weak but at least his body was recovering as fast as it could.

Midna was right. One more jump, and it was over. He had made it across. He was definitely ready for a nap now.

His path continued down the same way before when he went to get Talo. It was only a short walk up an old tree trunk that had been repurposed as a bridge. A light flickered where Talo had been trapped before. Link recognized the blue hue. When he focused, he saw the figure of the monkey he had saved before. But what made his heart stop was the gigantic bug scurrying around it, snapping it's pincers.

"So that's the monster…" Midna said in a low voice.

The thing he had to kill. It looked enormous. The bug kept chasing the monkey, which was barely avoiding it by jumping around. Maybe the monkey would be a perfect distraction so he could land a few hits.

He snuck around the edges at the end of the bridge, avoiding the sight of the bug. It kept racing around but seemed to have a pattern. He positioned himself on top of a tree stump and waited, until three, two, one-

He pounced and landed directly on the bug's back. He sunk his jaws into it's tough exoskeleton, eventually cutting through the skin.

The bug kept trying to reach its head back to attack Link, but it couldn't reach. Link took his shot and got a few bites in. A steady amount of black blood began to flow out of the wound he created.

The bug must have realized that snapping at him wasn't going to work. Instead, it began shaking its body, trying to throw Link off. Link tumbled onto the ground but quickly got to his feet. The bug now had angry sparks dancing off it's grey body. It's dull green eye searched the area until it landed on Link. It roared and charged directly at him.

Link waited until the right moment and observed. It had six legs, and seemed to rely on it's speed for the charge. The legs on insects were pretty weak and easy to tear off. Most of the time, bugs rely on blood circulation to keep their legs attached. If he could easily bite off a leg or two on one side, it would mess up the bug's balance and would bleed it out much more quickly than the bites on top of the bug.

The bug came up quickly. Link used one of his few remaining bursts of energy to dodge last second, turning and immediately biting at the legs. He got one ripped off completely, but was only able to damage the second. But sure enough, blood came pouring out. The bug began to falter in it's steps as it tried to charge at him. It's lack of balance disrupted its charge and crashed the bug into the side, making it fall. After only a few seconds, it stopped moving completely.

The bug's grey body darkened to black. Light seemed to burst from it's stomach, gravitating towards Link. As tired and injured as he was, he seemed to heal under the light.

"I think we should go back to the shrine." Midna tugged at his ear.

Link nodded and raced back toward where he had heard Faron. The light gave him new energy. It seemed to follow him as he ran back to the waterfall.

* * *

When he reached the falls, the light that followed him rose toward the weak light hovering over the water. Again, a flash of light covered the area, causing Link to duck his head.

Immediately the sense of dread that had covered the woods disappeared. Link could feel the sun shining on his back again.

"Oh, young one… Link." Faron's voice, stronger now, called to him.

Link looked up in surprise. It knew his name?

Faron's figure, unlike Ordona's, was monkey-like. The bright light surrounding him hovered around his curled tail rather than antlers. "I suppose you have already figured out my name. I am Faron, another light spirit." Faron gave a playful bow. "I think it's time you returned into your human form."

The blinding light surrounded Link. In a second, it had disappeared, and his old world returned to him.

Link smiled, fascinated and relieved. Legs! Only two. Thumbs! Also only two. A working voice, clothing instead of fur-

Clothing. This was not his.

"Yes, the green tunic. The Hero's clothes. You, my dear, are a worthy owner." Faron nodded gracefully. "You did not turn into a blue spirit like the other civilians of Hyrule. A blue-eyed wolf suited you better. A sign of the chosen one, of the ancient power that lurks within you. Alas, more than one ancient power hides in this kingdom." Faron heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid you must continue this journey. There are hidden spots, lost temples, which hold dark and ancient power. Now, only under dire circumstances, would I tell anyone about this power."

"Unfortunately, those circumstances are now. You must find it, use it as your own. You must fight the king of twilight. If you do not find this power, and you do not defeat him, the world of light will fall apart. The world will only know shadows, and all the people living with only remain as spirits. They will only know fear and darkness." Faron's face was dark and serious. "You must go. Be careful, young one. The shadow monsters still lurk in this area. They are dangerous."

Link nodded.

"Good luck, hero." Faron bowed to him before disappearing. In only a moment, the waterfall had become just a plain old waterfall. Not the home of the fabled light spirits.

* * *

Link sat on a nearby rock and collected his thoughts. First, he was wearing the clothes that the tales of the ancient hero had worn. Green tunic. He pulled at the fabric. Much sturdier than anything he'd ever worn. The pants were tan and coarse, yet loose. Those might be able to hold up a few scratches without tearing. Instead of his sloppy sandals, a fancy pair of brown boots were on his feet. He felt the smooth leather. Those would've cost him a year and some's salary. Leather wristlets wrapped around his palms and covered his forearms. Lastly, an odd green hat protected and hid his messy hair.

On his back he felt weight. Across his chest ran some brown leather straps. Feeling and tugging on the strap, he felt a scabbard holding the sword Midna had stolen. On the side, he felt the wooden shield tap against his back.

He walked over to the pool and splashed some water on his face, hoping it would help him calm down. He took some in his hands and hurriedly gulped it down. He hadn't felt human in a long time, nor had he had the luxury of eating and drinking. Unless he counted the accidental poison.

He continued to slurp down his fill of water, ignoring the sounds going on around him. That is, until a heavy roar rang out around him.

Link spit out the water and turned to see something he could only describe as a beast. It was black and it's limbs hung long. It had no face, just a blank grey canvas surrounded by sharp spikes of hair. Glancing at its hands, it had long claws that it dragged through the dirt. A bright glowing red mark decorated it's chest and back.

It roared again as it looked right at Link. It's roar was high-pitched, similar to a scream. The creature almost sounded like it was in pain, but it charged at Link anyway.

Link was lucky enough to dodge last-second, but wasn't prepared for the swipe of it's claws. It barely hit his ear but he could feel a small trickle of blood falling against his face.

He stood and raced to the other side of the waterfall. He just needed a second to grab his sword. He kept reaching behind his back and barely missing, trying to find the handle. The beast targeted him again and charged, and he had no choice but to roll out of the way.

Again he crossed the field, this time climbing onto a high rock. He frantically grasped for his sword of shield but couldn't seem too reach. The creature crept close and screamed, momentarily deafening Link. He clasped his hands over his ears to stop the ringing. The creature sensed it's opportunity and lunged, knocking Link off the rock and onto the ground.

Link was cornered against the ground and the creature. He scooted back away until he felt the wall of the clearing hit him. A sense of dread and horror came over him as the creature lunged toward him. He closed his eyes, ready for the pain to hit-

But it didn't. He heard a voice, and the sound of a knife sinking into flesh. The creature howled. Link opened his eyes just in time to see a figure yank a small dagger out of the creature's leg. It spun to face the figure, and promptly got its throat slit.

Link tried to see around the creature to figure out who this person was, and if they were going to kill him too. But his vision was obscured by the creature falling limply onto Link, smacking his head against the wall.


	5. Not Used to Hands

Black spots swarmed Link's vision as he tried to recover from the blow. It vaguely reminded him of those pesky hornets that hovered over the store in Ordon. Of course, there was no way to attack this hive. A slingshot would probably make this situation worse rather than better. A constant ringing kept attacking his ear, and his head ached and throbbed angrily. He tried to push himself up, but the more he tried to kick the limp corpse off of him, the more dizzy and confusing the world became. Any bit of the world he could see through his inky vision was shaking and moving in waves. Link could just barely make out the figure approaching him. He did his best to brace himself for a hit, lifting his arms to give himself a little protection in this weak state.

Instead, the figure just let out a heavy sigh. It would've been comical if not for the pulsing adrenaline rushing through him. Slowly, the weight of the body was pulled off his chest. A cough shook him as a substantial amount of air returned to his lungs. Link figured that if the figure wanted to hurt him, it would've done so by now. He stopped struggling and lay still. Funnily enough, once he stopped moving, his vision began to clear and the ringing seemed to die. The throbbing was still very present, though. Link tried to croak out some words. But only raspy coughs came out.

The new plan was to figure out who this person was instead of asking. Link turned and analyzed his savior. Whoever it was seemed to have a small frame, surprising for a fighter. Would explain the quick and precise movements he saw. A long light braid trailed down the person's back. Might be female, he noted. The top of the head was obscured by a white cap. He didn't know the person, but the attire was certainly familiar. It reminded him of something else he'd seen in the battered old legend book. Daggers upon daggers lined the person's legs and waist. Armor and wraps covered most of the body with a dark blue undersuit peeking through. But the most noticeable was the bright red eye covering the chest armor.

The figure looked up at him and he again was startled by two more red eyes. It was something out of a nightmare, almost. They pierced his own, looking blank and wary. A mask covered the rest of the face, leaving only the red eyes.

Link stood up and leaned against the wall for balance, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. This person looked more like a warrior than he did. And whoever this was just watched him fail miserably at slaying a monster. Curses for not being quite used to thumbs yet. He decided to give speaking another try.

"Hi." Link said, giving the tiniest wave.

The figure only nodded in response. He then pulled a blackened dagger out of his many sheaths and began cleaning the blood off.

Okay, so maybe he's not friendly. Link gave it another shot. "Sorry about that." He smiled sheepishly.

The figure put the knife back, fresh and clean. "Your sword. It's on the right shoulder, not the left."

"...What?"

The figure, whose voice was leaning toward feminine, looked up at him. "You kept reaching for your left shoulder. Your scabbard is on the right."

Link's cheeks burned red. That would explain it. He was left-handed. He didn't even think about the gods assuming his being right-handed. "Oh. Um. I'm not used to hands."

The stranger's head jerked so quickly to face him that the braid made an audible slap against the back. "...You're not used to hands." She repeated, slowly.

Link felt himself die inside. "Um, I'm Link." He outstretched his hand for a shake. Perhaps changing the subject would save his dignity.

The stranger nodded and gave a firm shake. "Sheik."

"Sheik." Link repeated. "So what brings you here?"

"I'm looking for the Hero. I believe that's you?" Sheik's brow quirked up.

"Why would you think that?" Link stepped back, guarding himself.

"The green is a dead giveaway." Sheik said plainly.

"Oh." Link looked down at his new outfit.

"I did also overhear the gods claim you." Sheik explained.

"That makes more sense." Link nodded, still staying back. Sheik seemed trustworthy enough, considering she had just saved his life, but something seemed off about her.

Sheik saw his distance and held her hands up in surrender. "I'm here to help. I don't want a fight."

"Help?" Link relaxed his guard slightly. "But why?"

"I'm one of the last remaining of the Sheikah tribe. It's my duty to protect the kingdom."

The puzzle clicked in his head. That's why he recognized the armor and the red eye. The Sheikah were an old race born to protect and serve the royal family. But they had almost been completely wiped out after the Great War. There were only one or two confirmed living members of the tribe left, and they were hidden. Occasionally a rumor of a sighting would pop up, but that was rare. Still, there was a strong possibility Sheik wasn't lying. How could you fake those nightmare eyes?

He took a deep breath to help himself process. "Alright. A Sheikah tagging along. Totally a normal day."

Sheik nodded and stared blankly. "Do you know where you need to go next?"

"Home? Take a nap?" Link hoped.

Sheik stiffened and shook her head.

"What, do you know?" Link raised his eyebrow.

"Yes." Sheik motioned for him to follow her, walking towards the exit.

"Ok, where?" Link asked.

Sheik hesitated. "Do you know how to cross the flooded clearing?"

"Yes. Is that where we're going?"

Sheik kept silent.

Link stopped following, clearing his throat to get her to turn around. "Yeah, that's not going to work."

Sheik tilted her head. "What is it?"

"I need you to tell me what's going on."

"I'll tell you when you need to know."

"Bullshit."

Sheik gave a heavy sigh. "I don't know what I can trust you with, so forgive me if I'm not sharing everything." Her tone bit.

"Well, how will you ever know if you can trust me if you don't try?" Link scoffed. Seemed like the obvious solution.

Sheik looked to the side, clenching her jaw. "It's not that simple. What I know is old Sheikah knowledge, handed down from generations. I can't just tell anyone."

"Then what's even the point of you looking for me if you know all the answers?"

"I was told to find the hero. I was told you had information needed to help me." Sheik countered. "And so far, I don't have any information from you. Anything you would care to share?"

Link held his tongue. He could mention the wolf, Midna, or what he learned about Twilight. But it didn't seem right to tell her.

Sheik waited a few moments in silence. "You see? You aren't willing to tell me things either. But I will compromise with you."

"Fine. How?"

"I will tell you what you need to know for today. If we're lucky, we can finish by sundown. If we do, then we tell each other everything we know. Does that seem reasonable?" Sheik stepped towards him.

Link mulled it over for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. So tell me."

"Not yet. First," Sheik gestured in front of them, "You need to tell me how you crossed this flood."

* * *

The flooded clearing before them was the same as it was when Link crossed it maybe an hour ago. Not that he expected much to change. Somehow it felt worse to him than before. The memory of how the poison burned and corroded his skin was not a pleasant one.

"We need to get to the other side." Sheik surveyed the area, trying to find a way across.

"I've gotten across before but I did fall in. Don't recommend it." Link rubbed at his arms. The burning from the poison was still very strong in his memory.

"I wasn't planning on testing it. How did you get across, assuming you didn't just swim?"

Link pointed at the branches. "I jumped across on the trees. I've climbed quite a few trees in my life, so I know how a strong branch looks. I got maybe halfway before there weren't any more stable branches."

"Point out what path you chose."

"Um, okay." Link named off which trees he had jumped to before his fall. "...but you see, when I got to the sixth one, there weren't any stable ones."

Sheik furrowed her brow in thought. "Then we take a different route. That would work, wouldn't it? The fifth branch you went to has many branches near it. One of them is bound to be stable and it might lead to more path options."

Link tried to see through the branches and find the fifth one again. Sure enough, there was a different branch than the one he had chosen before. "Okay. I'll give it a shot. Stay here."

He found jumping was a little harder as his normal self than when he was a wolf. As a wolf he could jump a little further and had more legs he could push off of. He even saw a couple of his paw print marks on the layer of soil on top of the branches. He made it over to the new path and looked around for his next step.

He was close enough to the rock walls. There were a bunch of ridges and dips in the rock that could potentially work as hand and footholds. If he was right, then he could climb all the way over without needing to go back onto the branches. He took the step and fit his feet into the small crevices. His leather gloves made the hand holds much easier and gave a little more grip. It took a few slow minutes and his muscles were burning afterwards, but he made his way over the flood.

When he jumped back down onto the ground, he yelled over to Sheik. "SO WHEN YOU GET TO -"

"No need."

Link jumped two feet and let out a nonhuman sound. "What the fuck? What? Why?"

Sheik let out a small laugh before covering her mouth. "Sheikah magic. Teleporting." Sheik shrugged. Even through the mask, Link could tell Sheik was smiling.

"I need a second." Link shook his head and sat down, hand over his heart. The shot of panic he got was almost worse than when he had fallen into the acid.

"As do I." Sheik sat near him. "I don't use teleporting magic often. It demands quite a bit of energy, especially long distances. But I'll admit, scaring you was a little funny."

"Ha ha. Whatever. You laugh like a girl, anyway." Link mumbled.

Sheik threw a dirty look at him. "That's good, considering I am one. I know the attire is a little… androgynous, but I assure you, I'm female. But you'd be surprised at how coming off as a male helps with gathering information."

"I don't think I'd be surprised. I always come off as a male, personally." Link joked.

"Ha, ha. How fortunate for you." Subtle sarcasm dripped from her words.

"Okay. We crossed the lake. So now what? Why are we here?" Link pushed for answers.

"Can you see up there?" Sheik pointed to the top of the tree trunk bridge, a little far in the distance. "There's where we have to go."

Link nodded. "Okay, I've been up there before. Why?"

"There should be an opening. Ages ago, the gods sealed away a very dangerous weapon. If we can find it, and give it to the right person, then we could have a shot at overthrowing Hyrule's attacker. He has access to very dark, old magic. This is the only possible way I can think of to defeat him. The Sheikah before me have told tales about the weapon being hidden away in Faron Woods, at the top of the tree trunk bridge." Sheik explained.

"You said give the weapon to the 'right person'. Is that me?" Link asked.

"No. But I know of a twilight being who can wield it."

Link chewed on his lip in thought. In the back of his mind he wondered if Midna would know anything about this. "So. We're playing scavenger hunt for something we can't even use?"

Sheik sighed. "Do we have any other choice? I've been told of how powerful the attacker is. We wouldn't be able to fight on our own. This is the only opportunity we have to match him."

"...so we just walk up the bridge, find an entrance, and go grab the piece?" It didn't seem like the most difficult task.

Sheiks shifted uncomfortably. "As long as no other person or creature has made contact with it. The dark power could corrupt someone's mind very easily. There could be a fight ahead of us, and you'll need to know how to grab for your sword."

"Shove off." Link mumbled. He slipped the scabbard off his back and replaced it on the opposite side. He reached up and easily touched the handle of his sword. At least no modifications had to be made for switching the scabbard from right to left-handed.

"You said you had been there before. Did you notice any openings, any hidden crawl spaces?" Sheik peered over at the top of the bridge.

"Not really. The times I was there I was a little more preoccupied with fighting rather than taking a tour." Link said.

"Then let's go take a tour." Sheik stood and outstretched her hand to Link, helping him up.

Link sighed and dusted off his new green gear. This day would never end.

* * *

Sheik stayed quiet during the walk. She was trying hard not to give away too much about herself and what she knew. Perhaps after they found the weapon, she could reveal herself a little. Or rather, a piece of the weapon. She wasn't quite ready to explain to Link that the weapon was broken into fragments. Once they got this first piece, though, she would tell him the truth.

Thought traced across her face as she scanned the bridge just ahead of them. The ground just beyond it did appear to house some sort of cavern, and that something appeared to be large. The gods wouldn't just leave this hidden shadow piece unguarded. She knew that there was likely a puzzle ahead of them, and a few fights would occur. She glanced up at the slowly fading sunset, deciding. If they were to leave soon, then they might be able to reach the second location before sundown. There, they could rest. She definitely felt the ache of fatigue. She had been constantly wandering the past few days searching for the hero. Lack of sleep was already working against her, not to mention the energy she'd need for magic. She needed to rely on daggers as much as possible.

Sheik shifted her gaze over to Link, the fabled Hero in green. Link seemed inexperienced, to say the least. He came off friendly and trusting. Convincing him hadn't been too much trouble. Ideally, Sheik would've gone on this journey herself, but Impa had told her to come here first. The memory of Impa caused her to wince. She hoped Impa was still alright alone at the castle. Impa was a capable warrior, but Sheik had seen the power the shadow beings held.

That was the exact detail about Link that worried Sheik. She knew Link's performance against the shadow being wasn't very reflective of his true fighting skill, since he had been the one to restore Faron, but he just seemed amateur overall. There was still a soft kindness to him. He hadn't been hardened by death and war just yet. A pang of sadness strung Sheik. This poor man. Link was so bright and a little funny now, but Sheik knew how fast that might fade. The legends of the Hero were filled with rage and blood. She couldn't imagine how that would transform Link. The gods could be cruel.

They approached the top of the bridge. Some stumps dotted the natural landing, but ahead there was a wall covered in dust and spiderwebs. Sheik eyed the sides of the landing and bridge. There was supposed to be a hidden entrance somewhere. Impa had told Sheik so, and Impa was one of the old.

Sheik looked over to Link who looked just as confused as she was. He reached and lightly traced his hand over the coated wall.

"Do you have any ideas?" Sheik asked, walking up next to him.

Link's brow was furrowed in thought. "I think. You see, here, the spiderwebs don't move. But here," He walked to the other side. "Here, you can see the wind pushing the webs a little. There could be something behind it, it's just really covered."

Sheik raised her brow in surprise. New observation about the hero: he wasn't stupid.

"Why not use your sword?" Sheik pointed at the scabbard.

Link nodded and grabbed it from the scabbard. But a quick slice did almost no damage to the thick coverings.

"It's...strong?" Link tilted his head and made a face. "Maybe your dagger?"

Sheik shrugged and walked up. She whipped a dagger out from one of her sheaths and attempted to cut. But no matter the force or effort, the blade did nothing. She put the dagger back, equally as puzzled as Link.

"You got any more magic tricks?" Link said hopefully.

Sheik nodded, reluctant. Now even more of her power would be sapped away. Fire magic was demanding. "One moment, please."

She pressed her hands together and closed her eyes, focusing her energy. This had always been difficult for Sheik. Impa said it would come faster and more naturally with practice, but for now, it took a lot of effort. After a moment of concentration, Sheik finally felt the surge of magic flow to her hands. She opened her eyes and saw the small flame snap to life in her palms. Sheik pressed it to the spiderwebs and jumped back as they caught fire.

"Woah." Sheik heard Link say under his breath. A small surge of pride raced through her. Not only was this idea working, but she didn't embarrass himself with needing multiple tries.

The fire went out quickly and completely destroyed the coverings. Behind the webs was a creepy, dark tunnel leading into the cave. Torches lined the sides and burst into flame once the webs had disappeared.

"What kind of…?" Link mumbled.

Sheik smiled at him. "The gods placed protections to keep these pieces from the wrong hands. I'm not surprised that they have their own tricks, too."

"Well, I guess using fire is one way of trying to be hot. Me, personally, I try to depend more on my good looks." Link joked, dramatically flipping his hair.

Sheik flushed red. "Just keep walking." She walked faster to leave Link behind.

"Aw, no laugh? I thought that was a good one." Link pouted, rushing to catch up.


	6. Creepy Crawlies

**This chapter was getting too long so I had to split it in half. Next chapter should be uploaded soon!**

As welcoming as the musty tunnel was, Link was eager to reach whatever weapon they were after. It had seemed they'd been walking forever. Bugs scattered across the dirt and along the stony walls. Their shadows were creepy and giant whenever one crawled near the torches lining the walls. Bugs usually didn't bother Link too much, as he was used to the ones crawling over rural Ordon. But the hundreds of spiders and roaches creeping around him was definitely unsettling.

He looked over to Sheik, watching her reactions. At least she wasn't screaming at him to kill them, like Ilia probably would. She looked stiff and her brow was furrowed. Confused, maybe? He could see her eyes darting around, her hand carefully placed on a dagger.

What to make of Sheik? At this point, he believed her. He'd seen proof of the fabled Sheikah magic. But she was very secretive. Even when telling him why they were chasing after this weapon, she seemed to hesitate with what details she revealed. He didn't even have any idea where she came from. All he knew was that she was Sheikah, and she had information he needed. She could fight, too. Link thought his skills weren't half-bad, but she had the aura of a trained warrior. At least that's what he thought after seeing her performance with the shadow monster.

"Link." Her clear voice broke him away from his thoughts. "Which way?"

Link's head snapped up and he saw the tunnel split into two paths. "I have no idea. Shouldn't you know?"

"Unfortunately, I don't. Shall we split up?"

Link peered down both tunnels. It was impossible to tell if one was a dead end or not. "No. You said if something touched this weapon, they could get all corrupted. It's better we stick together."

"Alright." Sheik nodded. She gestured over to the left tunnel. "Shall we?"

Link nodded and they started walking, again, for forever.

* * *

"So, where did you hide out before all this?" Link asked, nudging Sheik.

Sheik tensed sharply at his touch. "A village."

"Same. Ordon. The one that's right next to Faron Woods."

"How nice."

"What's your village? Maybe we've traded before."

"Mine is hidden away."

Awkward silence filled the air. Sheik didn't seem to be much of a talker.

"... but, I was most recently near Castletown." Sheik said slowly.

Link perked up at the sign of an actual personal detail. "I was supposed to go there not too long ago. Before the attacks."

"Which attacks?"

"Some of my townspeople. Taken into the Twilight realm. Do you know about that?"

Sheik nodded. "Yes, Hyrule's attacker is a Twili. Ordon is not the first to have people forced into the twilight."

"Do you know where else he's attacked?"

"Almost everywhere. I passed through towns to get to you, yet nobody was in them. So many citizens stuck in twilight."

"Really? Completely empty?"

"Like ghost towns." Sheik said softly.

Link let sad silence pass between them for a moment, reflecting on what he had lost. If he and Sheik failed, his friends and the people of Hyrule would be lost to the twilight. The pressure was immense, but so was his motivation.

Sheik cleared her throat. "You said you were going to Castletown, before?"

"I was supposed to deliver a sword."

Sheik turned and looked at him. "For the royal family?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

Sheik clenched her jaw. "I just heard rumors, that's all."

"Really? I would've thought the-"

"Shhh." Sheik stopped. "Do you hear that?"

Link tilted his head and listened carefully. In the distance, he could faintly hear something. Something… familiar. He nodded at Sheik and they slowly continued, stepping silently.

"Do you know what it is?" Sheik whispered.

Link nodded. "I've heard it before, but I don't know what it is yet."

They walked closer in the direction of the sound before coming to a small room. The sound was loudest here. It was coming from a corner. Sheik and Link made eye contact, each ready to strike.

They jumped from the tunnel, each wielding their weapons.

* * *

A small, helpless, scared, trapped in a cage monkey shrieked back at them.

Link felt stupid for like, the third or fourth time that day.

He could feel Sheik's irritated eyes burning into his soul. He could feel the anger coming off of her.

 _She must think I am the dumbest fucking person she's ever met, and I'm the one who is supposed to save Hyrule._

Link cleared his throat. "Ha! It's just a monkey."

Sheik rolled her eyes and put her dagger away. "You said you recognized the sound?"

"...Yes."

"And we were tip-toeing around for the last ten minutes?"

"...Yes."

"All… for a monkey."

Link's face rivaled a cherry's redness. "I know what you're saying, and I honestly don't have an excuse for myself."

Sheik sat down on the dirt and sighed.

Link awkwardly scratched his head. Ilia had yelled at him plenty of times. He was used to Ilia's cursing and angry tears, but he had a feeling he could never mentally prepare enough for Sheik's anger. She held so much authority and power in that stiff stance of hers.

But instead of cursing or yelling, a laugh came from Sheik. Link looked up at her in surprise.

"We sneaked around for a monkey." A smile crossed her face beneath her mask.

Link laughed, too, although cautiously. "I'm an idiot."

"You definitely have your moments." Sheik said carefully, still giggling.

They both exchanged smiles for a second. Link walked over and sat nearby her, now that he knew he wasn't in danger.

"I thought you were going to yell at me." He said sheepishly.

"I don't yell often."

"I feel like you're pretty scary when you yell."

"I don't yell when I'm angry. I become cold and quiet."

"Do you think I would be scary if I yelled?"

Sheik turned and stared at him, analyzing. "I believe so. Although I think it would be difficult to make you angry enough for it."

"I don't know, either. I haven't been super angry much before. I've got no idea if I'd yell or go all dark."

"How fortunate. I hope you never have to find out."

The monkey began banging against the bars keeping it trapped. It didn't like being trapped while Link and Sheik just sat there, and it was making sure they knew it. The noise was deafening and made both of them wince. Link stood and drew his sword, slicing the wooden bars.

Sheik jumped up as the monkey began running around. It screeched and circled the room, grabbing at Link's tunic.

"You don't like monkeys?" Link asked.

Sheik shook her head. "I've never had to interact with one before."

Link peered down at the monkey, which was now insistent on grabbing the tunic. "I think I've seen this one before."

Sheik raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"One kid was stupid and ran into the forest. Some bokoblins caught him and a monkey and shoved them in a cage. It was wooden, like this one. It looks like the same monkey."

"It does seem to recognize you."

The monkey yanked hard enough to make him stumble. Curiously, it seemed to be pulling towards the exit.

Link gnawed at his lip. "Call me crazy, but I think we should follow it."

"You're crazy." Sheik sighed, reluctantly getting up. She dusted the dirt off her suit and walked over. "It probably wants to leave, find the exit."

Link shrugged. "Maybe. I just have this feeling."

"Alright, Hero." Sheik said haughtily. "Either way, we have to go back into the tunnel. There's no other paths here. We chose the wrong way."

Link kept staring at the monkey. "I think it's a 'she'."

"What?"

"The monkey. It seems like a girl."

Sheik tilted her head at him. "...Does it matter?"

"I mean, I guess not." Link mumbled, starting to walk back into the tunnel. Sheik followed closely behind. The monkey let out a high screech and danced around a moment before running in front of him.

Link smiled to himself. The monkey sure sounded happy. Maybe his gut was right. His gut was also telling him to name the monkey. _Mandy? No. Maybe… Peach? No, not that either. Belinda. Your name is Belinda._ He nodded at the monkey.

The monkey did not nod back. Instead, it seemed much more intent on quickening their past. Belinda would race up ahead, pause, and then screech at them until they caught up. Then she would repeat this lovely and deafening cycle.

Link broke into a small jog to save his precious ears. He heard Sheik huff behind him, but she began jogging with him.

Eventually they reached the original crossroads. Instead of going towards the exit, like Sheik predicted, the monkey sped into the unexplored tunnel.

Link immediately turned to Sheik. "I told you."

Sheik paused and slowly turned her head. He couldn't tell if it was amusement or bitter hatred in her eyes. The red really threw him off. He decided it was probably a mixture of both, honestly.

* * *

The right tunnel was much shorter than the left tunnel they had chosen. After only a minute or two of following the monkey, Link pointed out a light in the distance.

"That doesn't look like a dead end." He said through heavy breath.

Sheik gave him a nod in agreement. It looked close enough, but a pang in her stomach gave her the impression that they'd have to stop before reaching it. Looking around, she didn't notice any imminent danger, but looking up made her stop in her tracks and yank Link back by his tunic.

"What? Come on-" Link protested.

Sheik shushed him and pointed up above the entrance into the light-filled room. A gigantic spider hung above.

Red and purple marks etched around the body, circling around the legs and abdomen. A large red hourglass blazed across the underside. An ordinary black widow, now enhanced with dark power.

"Holy shit." Link echoed her thoughts.

"It touched the weapon." Sheik said gravely.

The monkey was blissfully unaware of the danger above. It circled around them, cooing and trying to pull Link toward the light.

"I'm going to try to make this as easy as possible. Be prepared to fight, in case I miss." Sheik pulled a dagger from her sheath, searching the spider's body for its dark eyes. If she could throw the dagger exactly right, she could stab it through the eye and it would drop dead, completely avoiding a fight.

She scanned over for the shiny eyes, finally finding her target. Its hungry eyes darted back and forth, watching something. What was it watching?

The monkey. The monk-

A horrid screech rang in the air as the spider leapt down, landing right in front of the monkey, it's sharp fangs dripping with venom, half a foot away from crushing and killing its prey.

Sheik let out a yell and threw her dagger right at its jaws. The spider's ugly mouth roared and eight angry eyes now turned on her and Link.

Its legs were so heavy that the ground shook as it scurried across the room. Sheik dodged and raced towards the stone walls.

"GO!" She screamed at Link. He was trying to pull out his sword but the shaking ground was making him stumble. The spider ran toward him and clicked its fangs together, preparing for its meal.

Sheik slipped out another dagger and landed it, this time in its abdomen. The spider roared again and turned to her. She had managed to distract it from Link, which was the goal, but now she had to think of a way to not get hurt.

It came thundering toward her, the venom staining the dirt below it. Sheik let it charge and dodged at the last second. A crash sounded behind her as the spider directly hit the stone wall. She turned, hoping it had done some damage, but she could see no injury. Instead, it seemed even more enraged.

New plan. She waited for it to charge again, this time jumping and kicking off the wall. She threw herself high enough to land on the spider's back. The spider protested and roared, trying to turn and bite at her. She managed to pull a knife and slash at its eyes before being thrown off and landing painfully on the ground.

Blood dripped from the spider's new injury. It stumbled back, clicking and spitting venom. At least its eyesight was damaged, but she hadn't pierced deeply enough to kill. She groaned and ran toward it, dropping and sliding through its legs and slicing under the abdomen.

Another roar. She cursed mentally. Unless she could get through an eye, she would have to keep stabbing or dodging until it bled out. Her daggers couldn't pierce deep enough. Magic might help, but still not kill. But it would buy her the time she needed.

She was best with water. With quick focus and precision, she yelled and cast down a short burst of rain, drenching the poor creature. It's legs collapsed but the fangs clicked away furiously.

The sound of deep, stabbing flesh echoed across the tunnel. The clicking stopped and the spider's body twitched for a moment more before all movement ceased. Sheik darted her head toward the sound to see Link and his sword fully embedded in the spider's abdomen.

His gaze was different than she had ever seen before. His face was hardened, with something powerful and brave beneath it. Jaw clenched, eyes focused, muscles tense, no emotion. She could almost hear the hum of the triforce of courage in the air. Sheik felt it in that moment. The gods had chosen a warrior, even if Link didn't know it yet.


	7. Belinda's Bridges

Link withdrew his sword, making a face at the lumpy guts that coated the blade.

"Why is it green?" He gagged, wiping it off on the spider's corpse.

Sheik smiled faintly. She slowly made her way towards him on the other side of the corpse. There was the Link that she was more familiar with. Although, it was comforting to know there was a fighting spirit underneath his carefree nature.

He met her eyes and his face dropped. Link dropped his sword to the ground and rushed to her. "Are you okay?" He gently placed a hand on her arm. "You fell kind of hard, do you need to sit or-"

Sheik stepped back, tense. "I'm fine. A bruise, at most." She rubbed her arm where Link had touched. That felt too friendly.

He glanced down and stepped back. "Sorry." He stayed quiet for a moment.

A bit of guilt ate at Sheik. She didn't mean to seem so opposed to him. "Are you alright, too?"

"Me? I'm fine." Link met her eyes again. "I should've done more."

Sheik furrowed her brow. "No, you did fine. I did tell you to go, after all. The fight went much more quickly with you than just me alone."

"Still."

"There's more fights ahead of us. We need to hurry." Sheik picked up Link's fallen sword and held it out to him.

He took it from her and slid it back in its sheath. "More fights?"

"I doubt that spider is the only one to come into contact with the weapon." Sheik surveyed the area. "Where did that monkey go?"

"Oh!" Link pointed. "You were fighting, and I didn't want her get in the way, so I kind of… tied her to a rock." He said sheepishly. Sure enough, there was the monkey, fastened to a rock with his leather belt.

"...Smart." Sheik nodded. Odd idea, but worked.

Link jogged over and undid the belt, earning a high screech from the monkey. It danced in a circle around him.

Sheik sighed and went over to the corpse to retrieve her lost daggers. One by it's jaws, one lodged in the abdomen. She wiped the innards off against the body and slid the knives back into the respective sheaths. Granted, if she couldn't go back for her knives, she could always conjure some. But that required a lot of energy and focus. She avoided using too much energy. Even the simple water spell had drained her.

"Shall we continue?" Sheik asked, motioning towards the light.

Link switched his gaze from the monkey to her. "Yeah, yeah. But keep your weapon out."

Sheik nodded and gripped the handle of a dagger on her hip. She began walking with Link behind her, holding his sword out in front of him. The monkey jumped around some more and then raced ahead of her.

The light was coming from a sharp turn in the tunnel. The monkey rounded the corner and stopped abruptly, just enough that Sheik could still see it's tail. She could've sworn she saw the fur flowing back and forth, as if facing a breeze.

The burst of wind hit Sheik too, when she rounded the corner. She stopped short.

"Why'd you stop-" Link followed, stopping himself. "Oh."

Up above, a break in the cave walls let sunshine pour in. More holes along the sides let sudden bursts of wind push the hair away from Sheik's face. But the main concern was the maze spread before them.

The cave ground level they were on cut off in a jagged cliff. A canyon spread across in front of them, filled with giant stone pillars stemming from the canyon ground. Sheik peeked over to see how far down the canyon floor sunk, but she could only see darkness. If she fell, she was sure to die. On top of the great stone pillars sat small rickety bridges. Each one was extremely short in length and spread out in the pit before them. None of them lined up perfectly with one another, and there seemed to be no clear path. Likely a lot of jumping would be needed to cross from bridge to bridge. That idea alone made her nervous, seeing as how weak the bridges looked.

Along the sides of the caves, small rocky patches of ground hung onto the walls. Small creatures were hopping around, trapped. Sheik peered closer; it appeared to be more monkeys. She internally groaned at the thought of more monkeys tailing behind.

Across the way, the canyon ended and the ground slowly built back up to the original level, about the same height as where they stood now. Another cave lay beyond, with the entrance covered by a thick wall of purple vines. It almost appeared as though there had been some sort of rock path leading to the other side, but had been destroyed, leaving the jagged cliffs.

Sheik pointed over to the vines. "Those don't look right. I think those vines are closer to the whatever creature is behind this and the weapon itself. We'll have to get across somehow."

"What about the other monkeys?" Link asked. The monkey squaked behind him as if in agreement.

"We don't have a lot of time. I suppose we can bring them to this side of the cave. Then they can find their way to the exit."

"How do we get over there, then?"

"We can try jumping from bridge to bridge." Sheik shrugged, stepping lightly onto the bridge before them.

The wind howled in the distance. Sheik turned to Link, motioning him to follow. His face clenched, eyes narrowing at the wind.

"Sheik, I think you should get off-"

The bridge jolted and Sheik felt herself thrown off, down toward the darkness below.

"SHEIK-"

Link watched in horror as the bridge lurched and violently pivoted on its pillar. Sheik's small frame slammed into the weak rails, breaking through and falling off the bridge.

A strangled cry erupted from his throat. Had he just seen his first human death? He knew the bridges looked too flimsy. He knew that the wind was too strong. He knew that the pillars weren't holding the bridges stable.

Panic flooded his body as he waited for the terrible crunch of bones and body against the canyon floor. He turned around, afraid of what he would see.

"Holy fuck, Sheik…" He whispered, holding his hand to his chest.

But no crunch came. Instead, a loud grunt echoed.

He turned back to see Sheik's hands clutching the side of the bridge. She groaned as she pulled her weight back onto the bridge, safe for now.

"Shit, I thought you were dead." Link sighed in relief. He still felt the panicked lump in his throat.

Sheik nodded, breathing heavy. "They're supposed to pivot."

"What?"

"I saw underneath. They're made to pivot. Whoever set these up wanted the wind to move them. They wanted to scramble the maze."

Link looked up at the other bridges scattered. Each one had moved the same direction and the same distance. Each one had turned about ninety degrees. The bridges that faced straight across from the cliffs now faced the sides of the walls. Even the bridge Sheik was on now perfectly lined up with another bridge, leading to the right side wall.

"It's simple. There's a monkey over to the right, and another on the left. I'll take the right." Sheik pushed herself up and walked to the connecting bridge. "When the wind blows again, that first bridge will go straight. Just find a path and keep waiting for the wind to connect you to another bridge."

Link stepped towards the cliff but hesitated. "Won't we fall again?"

Sheik shook her head. "Keep your balance. We know the wind moves the bridges and we get a few seconds after we hear it. Once you hear it, ground your balance. You're heavier. You'll have less trouble."

Link bit his lip, unsure. "Are you sure that'll work-"

The wind howled in the distance. Link's head whipped to Sheik. She dropped to the bridge floor and grasped the planks tightly.

The wind came as sudden as ever and threw all the bridges again. This time, Link was relieved to see that Sheik was still on top and not hanging off the side.

Sheik popped back up, her hair stringy around her face. "See?"

Link nodded and stepped onto the bridge, which now faced him again. "I'm trusting you here. If I die, that's on your conscience."

"I'll take my chances." Came her biting answer.

Link's lips quirked into a smile.

A loud screech behind him echoed and Belinda the monkey thundered her way onto the bridge, racing past him.

"BELINDA NO!" Link bellowed and raced after her, crossing onto another bridge. The monkey jumped across from bridge to bridge with Link in tow. It almost seemed like she knew her way around it. She stopped short at the end of one bridge, turning and patiently staring at him. Link stared back, out of breath.

"Are you both okay?" Sheik shouted across the canyon.

"Yeah, I think so."

"...Belinda?"

He swore he could hear the judgement in her voice. "...So I named the monkey."

"And you named it Belinda."

"Oh, fuck off." Link groaned. Sheik's small laugh echoed around him, somehow both polite and taunting.

Another howl sounded in the distance. Link turned to Sheik and matched her crouched position. The bridge whipped around a few seconds later, as planned. The blood in his head rushed around as the bridge aggressively pivoted.

He stood up, alive and very lightheaded. Belinda was not lightheaded whatsoever and continued racing away and zipping from bridge to bridge. He let out a loud sigh and raced after her.

To his surprise, Belinda led him directly to the stranded monkey. They both screeched happily upon meeting and jumped around, circling and racing around him.

"I think Belinda knows this place!" Link shouted to Sheik.

"I think you have a lot of faith in that monkey."

"Maybe you just have no faith."

"Take them both back to the cliff. I still need to reach mine."

Link nodded and watched gleefully as the monkeys raced onto the bridges. They would stop when they needed to wait for wind, and then continue on. All his work was being done for him. No mind games. He was sure Sheik was having problems, but he sure as hell wasn't.

He reached the cliff and the monkeys raced off to the exit. By now he was definitely confident that these monkeys knew what they were doing. He turned to taunt Sheik and paled at what he saw creeping down from the ceiling.

"Sheik, there's another spider-"

He was too late.

The spider leapt from his web and lunged at her and her monkey. He watched as Sheik let out a yelp and rolled to the other side of the bridge and onto one of the rocky platforms hugging the cave wall. The spider screeched and thundered after her.

Panic bubbled up in his throat again as he reached for his sword. He looked up to watch and then stopped, his hand resting loosely on the handle.

Link had seen her fight earlier, but he was too busy with tying up the monkey to watch her fully. But now, from afar, he could see it all. The precision of her dagger throws. How quick she was, how she dodged and danced around the attacks. She was incredible. Smooth and graceful, yet she hit her targets exactly.

He stared in awe as she dodged the venom spitting at her and dug her dagger into it's thick leg, slicing deeply. The blood poured onto the ground. The spider's screech shook the walls. She stopped and backed up. Why was she backing up? She could easily land another hit. Was she planning something? Did she not know where to hit? Too late. The spider recovered and charged at her, but Sheik seemed ready. With a dagger ready in hand, she ran and slid under the charging spider. Another screech. Did she cut the belly? No. The spider turned and showed another deep cut pouring blood on a back leg. So she had been aiming for balance. She had struck a front leg on one side, and then a back leg on the other. The spider stumbled and tried to charge again, but misjudged heavily. It missed Sheik by a clear few feet and stumbled off the edge, down into the canyon below. Link winced as he heard the crunch of its body.

Sheik was obviously a professional. Now Link felt somewhat ashamed. He was the hero, when talent like that existed? He was amateur. Now his past accomplishments of bokoblins seemed incredibly worthless in comparison.

A howl of wind snapped him out of his thoughts. He stayed silent as he watched Sheik navigate her way back with the monkey in tow.

Link smiled at her when she reached him. Even he could feel that it was an awkward smile. Now he didn't really know how to act. Would she be willing to give him lessons, maybe? Sheik was kind of private. Maybe not.

"Now we need to get to the vines."

"Huh?" Link blinked, lost.

"The vines. Where the weapon should be."

"Oh. yeah." How was she so calm? She was barely even out of breath and now she was ready for the next fight. He must be really out of shape.

The path to the vines was much more difficult to figure out. Unlike the monkeys, where Link could figure it out as he went, this required actual mental work. He lost count of how many times they had to backtrack because they took the wrong bridge. After what felt like hours upon hours of frustration, they finally reached the bridge leading directly in front of the vines.

"God, finally. That took forever." Link groaned.

Sheik gave him a weird look. "It was only fifteen minutes."

"And that is far too long." Link said.

Sheik rolled her eyes. She seemed to be doing that a lot to him.

She turned away from him and toward the vines. Her hand reached out and tapped the edges gently.

"They seem like they can be cut. Try your sword."

Link nodded and pulled his sword from the sheath. A quick strike left a deep cut against one of the thick stalks.

"Perfect! Finally, something easy." Link rejoiced. A smile broke out across his face in relief.

"Not so fast." Sheik called his attention back to the vines. The cut he had made was quickly healing. Moments later, it looked as though it had never even been nicked.

Link paused. "I am the most unlucky person to ever walk this earth." He hung his head, sighing loudly enough for it to echo.

Sheik rolled her eyes but he saw a small smile form beneath her mask.

"You could try the fire magic again?" Link suggested.

Sheik nodded. She pressed her hands together for a moment and closed her eyes. Her brow furrowed and her jaw clenched. A minute passed and a tiny bead of sweat fell from her forehead.

The burst of flame she conjured was much smaller than the one at the entrance. More sweat dripped down and her breathing got heavy and loud. Link didn't realize how much effort this needed. Maybe she was tired out from the earlier fights.

She pressed her hands against vines and they caught fire. Within seconds, the vines shriveled onto the ground below.

"I don't think they'll heal after that." Link joked. He turned to Sheik, who was now crouched over and fighting to catch her breath. He watched as Sheik pulled out a small canteen clipped to her waistband. "Do you want a break?"

"Just a minute." She croaked out, leaning heavily on the rocky sides.

Link nodded. She hadn't seemed nearly as tired as before when she used magic earlier. Perhaps she was a lot more exhausted than she let on.

He turned to what lay beyond the now-shriveled vines. A low arch had been carved into the rock to create a small entrance. He figured he could make it if he crouched, but whatever created the entrance was pretty small. It was an awful entrance. Lots of sharp rocks and uneven edges. It just looked like someone angry had punched a hole in the wall. That was likely, considering the whole weapon corruption thing Sheik had told him about.

"What do you think we're dealing with?" Link studied the entrance. It was pretty thick rock. Whatever made it must have been powerful.

Sheik turned toward the entrance as well. "Small. We've been running into a lot of spiders. Their venom is acidic, they might have been able to corrode through the rock."

"How do you know it's acidic?"

Sheik pulled her mask down a little and exposed a dark blistered burn on her cheek. "I was able to dodge it mostly, but not completely."

"Let me see." Link rushed over to her, gently grabbing her chin and turning her cheek towards him. He felt her face tense at his touch, but she didn't pull away. He took the chance to study the injury. The mark was about the size of his fingernail. It was a dark red with two small blisters beginning to bubble. "It looks bad. Does it hurt?"

"It's fine." Her voice sounded tight. Link took the hint and let go, taking a step back. He saw Sheik visibly relax and pull her mask back up, higher than it had been before. Link's hands balled into fists against his sides; he wasn't so bad. Why the hell was she so wary of him?

He rolled his eyes and turned away. "You ready?"

"Yes." She walked ahead of him, not bothering to look back.

Sheik was a similar height to him but much smaller in frame. She simply crouched down and passed through the entrance fairly easily. He had a much more difficult time squeezing his shoulders between the tiny arch.

He emerged in a new cave, much darker than the rest. Sheik stood off to the side nearby. He tossed a quick glance in her direction. She didn't bother making eye contact. Link held back a scoff. She really didn't give a shit. No information, and touchy as hell. Best for him to get this whole mess over with and split up. Once he got the weapon, this whole buddy system thing would be done.

Link pulled out his sword and flipped the handle over in his hand, stepping ahead of Sheik.

"Wait." Her cold voice sounded behind him.

He reluctantly stopped and bit the inside of his cheek.

He heard her soft steps catch up to him. "Look around first. It seems oddly dark in here, doesn't it?"

Link surveyed the room. It had a similar build to the other caves they'd looked at. The main difference was the light moss covering the ground. The other paths had been mostly dirt and earth. But Sheik had a point. While there were just as many breaks and holes in the walls as the other rooms, the light seemed much dimmer. The air around seemed hazy, too. He could feel his eyes straining to see beyond the thick air. He could swear he felt his head start to ache, but it was a mystery to whether that was from Sheik or from the room.

"The weapon is in here. I can feel it."


	8. The Horse Thief

They stepped slowly together, careful and ready to strike. Sheik had said the weapon would have messed some creature up pretty bad. As much as he hated to admit Sheik was right, Link could also feel something dark in the air.

A faint stinging hovered around his feet. As his eyes adjusted, he could see a thick purple fog, reminiscent of the flooded waters in Faron Woods.

He put his arm in front of Sheik's path.

"What is it?"

"Look down. Do you feel that? Near your feet?"

Sheik bit the inside of her cheek and nodded. "It burns. Poison. Does it hurt too much?"

"No, but I'd rather not stay in it too long."

Sheik pointed toward the right. A mound of dirt and grass rose above the rest of the terrain, just enough above to avoid the fog. "Over there. There's a clear patch. We can figure out what to do up there."

Sheik took the lead as usual. A few steps away from the top of the mound, she tripped and fell spectacularly .

Link tried to stifle his laugh but it slipped out. Not so high and mighty now, huh. Serves her right for-

"GET BACK-"

A giant vine lashed out from the fog, sweeping his legs out from under him. So maybe Sheik hadn't tripped.

He scrambled up and grabbed his sword up off the ground. His eyes darted around, waiting for the vine to reappear.

The ground shook beneath him. Sheik raced over to his side, trying to keep them both steady.

Up on the mound, a thick vine shot straight up, thrashing. Atop the stem, a gigantic head jutted out, dark purple drool dripping between each of its long, sharp fangs. The mouth was large enough to eat Link whole. He felt his stomach drop. He was going to be killed by an angry plant.

It snapped at him, making him jump and back into the poison lining the ground. He winced at the pain, but anything was better than those teeth.

He looked over to Sheik. She seemed just as unsure as he was.

"Do you know what this is?" He yelled out to her.

The plant hissed at the noise and spat in his direction. Link sidestepped in time, but the dirt that got hit made a horrifying bubbling sound.

"It looks like a Deku Baba plant, but…" Sheik said shakily.

"But way bigger and way more dangerous?"

"...Yeah, to put it simply."

The giant Baba twisted it's head and stared at Sheik, then Link. It kept looking between them, as if deciding which snack to go for first.

"Ha!" Sheik's grunt filled the air and Link saw the glint of her dagger flying through the air. A sharp thwack echoed and the Baba plant howled before turning and lunging for her.

But Sheik was ready. Link ran behind the plant, being careful to avoid the dark thorns sticking out from the stem. It snapped dangerously close to Sheik's heels. Only her speed saved her from an unprompted amputation. She darted in a zigzag pattern, leaping from side to side before the mouth could land any bites on her. It seemed to have issues with following her pattern Maybe…?

Sheik figured it out long before Link did. She broke into a dead sprint, racing toward the rocky walls. The Baba shot right after her and was gaining quickly. Link sped up too, worry etching at his stomach as he saw the snapping teeth get closer and closer at Sheik's braid flying behind her. Sheik threw a glance behind her and a smirk grazed her face. Moments before impact against the stone, she split off to the side. The Baba crashed head first. The walls shook heavily. A whine echoed from the mouth before the vine flopped to the ground, twitching.

Link let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. "Is that it? Where's the weapon?"

Sheik stared at the body a moment before facing him. "I thought… Nevermind. Perhaps it's on the clear patch?" She walked over to the mound. The leaves of the Baba took up most of the area.

"Maybe." Link shrugged.

Sheik bent down and started patting the dirt around the plant. Link glanced around absentmindedly. He heard Sheik rustle the bottom tier leaves around the Baba's base.

A familiar howl shook the cave walls. Link turned in panic in time to see the vine reawaken. It shrieked and lunged with new speed toward Sheik.

Sheik scrambled to get up and barely dodged back. She lunged to the side as the Baba shot at her again. Purple drool flew across the room and sizzled . He saw a few splatters land on Sheik and winced for her.

By now the poison fog had hurt her feet too much for a proper sprint. Link too could feel the red hot blisters forming. Her running slowed and she limped helplessly. The Baba was catching up quickly and she was only getting slower and slower, every dodge closer than the last.

The Baba roared and spat behind her, snapping much too close. She jumped and rolled on the ground. Fighting to stand between exhausted panting, she turned to run but came face to face with the walls. The Baba lunged again and she ducked as fast as she could. But not fast enough.

Link watched as one of the sharp and prickly thorns lining the stem cut clean through her shoulder. He saw it come out, tainted red with her blood.

He heard her scream. And gods, what an awful scream it was.

He didn't feel himself start to run. He didn't remember reaching for his sword, his palm perfectly finding the handle. He didn't even feel the burning blisters lining his ankles, the burning in his lungs and his chest. Everything seemed sped up and slowed down at the same time. Everything was clear and vivid but his mind was blank. It was pure instinct taking over. He was up by the head, he somehow jumped high enough, somehow landed directly on the Baba's neck and sunk his sword deep into it's skull.

No whine this time. The Baba just collapsed. Link panted heavily before groaning in pain. The thorns on the vine. One stabbed into his boot and sunk into the bottom of his foot.

Link pulled his foot away with a grunt. He was lucky that the thorn wasn't as long as the one that struck Sheik, but it still hurt like hell. He yanked the sword out of the fleshy Baba and dragged it behind him, limping towards Sheik.

"Are you okay?" He croaked out.

Her face was stark white and solemn. "I'll be okay."

Sheik fought to get up while holding her shoulder. She let out a gasp of pain but made it onto her feet.

"Can I see?" Link asked carefully.

Sheik nodded and turned around. A harsh gash cut through the cloth. The wound was well soaked with blood, but it wasn't pouring out.

"How bad is it?"

"Stitches, maybe. You might be okay without them."

Sheik nodded and turned back around. Her eyes went wide.

"What?" Link looked down, hoping he didn't have some sort of injury he wasn't feeling yet.

"No- hold on." Sheik hurried over to the base of the plant. Now dead, it's roots were shriveling and blackening. In the center lay a dark metal… thing.

"Is that it?" Link tilted his head. "That doesn't look much like a weapon."

Sheik nodded. "It's a piece."

"A piece? Fuck, where are the rest of them? We have to do this all again?"

"Sort of." Sheik clipped the piece onto her armor and walked back to him. "I'll explain."

"You said you'd tell me everything when this was done."

"I will. I know a place we'll camp at. There's a small village, near Death Mountain."

"How are we gonna get there?"

"I found a stray horse. It's out in the woods. First I want to heal that foot." Sheik motioned for him to sit.

"Me? Your shoulder looks worse."

Sheik shook her head. "It doesn't work on me. I know the chant to heal others, not myself."

"That's kind of stupid. Why are they separate things?" Link gently lowered himself and stuck his bloodied shoe towards her.

Sheik sat on the ground and his leg into her lap. "I'll try to make this not hurt." She slowly started pulling the boot off his foot, careful not to hit the blisters.

He hissed in pain.

Sheik paused a moment. "They're different spells because spells use my energy." She slowly began pulling on the boot again, talking faster. "If I'm hurt and I use my energy to try to heal, the energy doesn't go anywhere. It doesn't have anywhere to transfer to. But I can transfer my energy to you, therefore I can heal you."

"So you're giving me some energy?"

"Exactly." She finished pulling the boot off and started examining the wound. "This part won't hurt you."

"Will it hurt you?"

"Not hurt, but I'll be drained. Similar to how long distance teleporting drains me. I trust you know how to ride a horse?"

"Yeah. I have my own, you know."

"You'll be in charge of guiding the horse, then." Sheik pressed her hands lightly against the bottom of his foot and took a deep breath.

A surge of warmth went up his foot. It wasn't unbearably hot. Almost comforting, even. He could feel the wound closing. Even the blisters began to disappear. But while he felt better, Sheik was looking worse and worse.

A minute passed and the warmth died down. Sheik removed her hands and handed him his boot. She took his leg off her lap and leaned back on the ground.

He took a quick look at the bottom of his foot. Not even a scar. Link quickly slipped the boot on.

"Sheik, what'll you do about your shoulder?"

"The place we're going. It has a healing spring. The sooner we get there, the better." She said between heavy breaths.

Link nodded and stood, offering his hand. "Come on."

Sheik hesitated but reached for it, climbing onto her feet.

"Back the way we came?" Link asked.

Sheik nodded.

* * *

Getting back out had been easy enough. Everything seemed calmer in the temple. No spiders or bats hanging around, no trapped monkeys. Even the platforms were stilled. It was much easier to find a path across when they didn't have to play the mind games.

By the time they made it outside, it was almost sundown. Light barely creeped over the trees. Even outside, the atmosphere seemed calm and a great deal less evil than before.

"Where's the horse?" Link looked back to Sheik. Every look at her made him a little more worried. Her movements seemed feeble and fragile.

Sheik walked down the tree trunk bridge and down behind a patch of trees. Lo and behold, there was a beautiful beige horse, fit with a well-polished saddle.

A very, very, very familiar horse.

"Epona?" Link rushed to Epona's side. The horse let out a soft nicker and pressed her nose against his hand.

"Oops." Sheik heistated.

"You… stole my horse?"

"No. She was running wild in Hyrule fields. I didn't realize she belonged to someone."

"Yeah, you know stray horses and their natural saddles." Link glared over at her.

"People abandon horses in the fields all the time."

That was true. It was common for people to leave their horses out in monster-ridden fields when they couldn't afford them anymore. "I guess that's an excuse, but I can still be mad about it."

"Are we going or not?" Sheik sighed, clutching her shoulder.

Right. They were a little pressed for time.

"Yes. You get on first. I'm guiding, anyway." Link backed away from Epona.

Sheik began to push herself up onto Epona before hissing in pain. "Sorry. Shoulder."

"Do you need help, or-"

"I'm good." Sheik bit her cheek and pushed herself up. She made it barely, her shoulder shaking pretty horribly once up.

Link shook his head. She was one stubborn person.

He jumped up with ease and settled in. "Hold on."

Sheik's hands barely gripped his sides. He rolled his eyes. If Epona bucked at all, she'd be off in less than a second. But this was Epona. If it was any other horse, he'd push it.

"So, where are we going?"

"Go through the field up here. Careful of monsters. We'll get to that tiny village. Kakariko, it has a sign. There's a spring right outside of there with a small cave. We'll stay there."

Link nodded. "Off we go, then."

* * *

The ride was only about an hour with Epona's brisk trot. Every look back at Sheik made him want to press her into a gallop, but that would attract the monsters surrounding the fields. They couldn't handle any more fights right now.

The sun was down by the time they reached Kakariko. Link spotted the falls immediately, but he couldn't shake that something was in the air. It felt like Faron Woods, before he killed the bug. Twilight Realm. Speaking of which, what was he gonna do with Midna, now that Sheik was here?

He clicked his tongue and Epona stopped just outside the spring. He slipped off and reached his hand out to Sheik. She reluctantly took his hand and gently jumped off.

"This way." Sheik said softly. A boulder blockade surrounded the area next to the spring. Sheik tapped on a few before grabbing one and pushing. Unlike the other ones, this one easily moved.

"How did you know that one was loose?" Link followed, leading Epona behind him. Just past the boulders was a spacious cavern connected to the spring.

"I loosened it. I stayed here before going to you." Sheik walked up to a small and hastily made fire pit in the center of the room. She reached behind a small rock and took out a pile of wood.

"I'll do that. Go heal." Link pulled a log away from her.

Sheik sighed. "Be fast. I'll need it."

Link carefully structured a teepee with some solid log pieces, then stuffed some small dry twigs beneath it. He walked over to Epona and hunted in the saddle pouch for his emergency kit. Thank god Rusl had forced him to pack some survival equipment with Epona. Link fought hard against it, claiming Epona would ever get lost with him as her rider. He never considered this sort of situation before.

He pulled out his matches and struck one, tossing it into the teepee. The fire caught, lucky for him. He only had a few matches left.

A splash echoed from the other side of the cave. Link's head shot up.

"Sheik?" He rushed over to the water's edge, peering through the dark. Did she fall? Faint?

Another splash sounded by his feet. "Right here." He heard Sheik stand up out of the water and watched her shiver. She brushed by him and picked up a pile and rushed to the fire.

"What-?"

"It's a legendary spring. Belongs to one of the light spirits of Hyrule. Usually these springs heal you completely, but this time it only helped some. But it helped enough that I'm not in danger anymore."

"Oh, thank god." Link sighed with relief. He walked back over to her, sitting on the opposite side of the fire.

"In fact, you should dip your other foot in. It'll help get rid of the blisters."

He nodded and moved to take off his boots before glancing up at her. Surprise shook him. "Where's your…?"

"My extra pieces are over there. I didn't want them to get wet." She pointed to the corner.

Without all the bulk of armor and sheaths, she did look pretty small. Looked about his age. A little too skinny, but that might come with roaming around without consistent food. But the main surprise was her face without the mask.

Sheik furrowed her brow. "What are you looking for?"

Her face was unlike anything he thought it would be. He pictured tough and hard skin. Scars covering half of her face, and definitely thought she'd be more tanned. Instead she looked like some merchant daughter who lived in fancy Castletown or something. No sign of a tough and violent life.

"I really thought you were going to be uglier." Link blurted.

Sheik went silent and stiff, a bewildered look crossing her face. Link began to regret ever using his brain. Her face froze like that.

"Um, I-" Link started reddening horribly.

A laugh escaped her lips and a gentle smile replaced her straight face. "We all can't be as unfortunate as you, Link."

Now it was Link's turn to be shocked. "Well, um, I'll have you know I'm actually the best looking bachelor in Ordon!"

"...Are you the only bachelor in Ordon?"

Damn. She got him. "That's besides the point."

Another laugh. Finally a sign that she wasn't some boring stone-faced alien.

"Anyway, moving on, I believe you owe me some information? Does only a piece of weapon ring any bells?"

Sheik's smile faded. "Yes, I do believe I have some things to explain. Settle in, it'll be a long story."


	9. Campfire Tails

"The Sheikah are from an ancient race, sworn to protect the royal family in power. Many of us were killed during the Great War. How much do you know about the Great War?"

"It was a super long time ago and the Gerudo all got wiped out. Then King Hyrule of the Hylians came into power."

"Do you know how the war began?"

"...Gerudo were mean. Revolution. Yay freedom. Fireworks on June 21st."

"Something similar to that, I suppose." Sheik sighed.

"A hundred years ago, Gerudo were in power. They were born from the desert. Extremely large people with orange or green skin and flaming red hair. The Gerudo race works oddly where only one or two males exists within the species. Whoever this male is becomes the king of the Gerudo and all the land they own. A Gerudo's lifespan is about two hundred years, and a new male is born every one hundred and ninety years. This leaves a ten year gap in which the male in power mentors the young child next in line for the throne. The Great War took place when King Annihilan was in power and close to death. He was in the process of mentoring the next king, Prince Ganondorf, who was eight years old at the time."

"So, two boys, one old king guy and this little kid?"

"Yes. However, the Gerudo were unkind rulers. The citizens were poorly treated and dehumanized. The Gerudo had a skewed idea that sheer size symbolized value. Hylians had it the worst, for your race is smaller. Zoras are the same size but they gained leverage because of their water resources. Gorons were treated better, for they are bigger than Hylians or the Zora. But the Gerudo lived a life of luxury while the kingdom worked tirelessly and starved. The kingdom grew tired of their rulers being greedy and taking advantage of them. Revolts and rebellions sprung up again and again. By banding together, the kingdom overthrew the Gerudo race. However, they did this by committing mass genocide."

"Genocide?"

"They gathered the remaining Gerudo and drowned them all. No matter if they were young, old, innocent, or guilty."

"I've never heard about that."

"The Hylian family kept it a secret. Let the people believe the Gerudo all died in the war. But no, it was mass murder. Some sort of cruel revenge scheme for all the freedom the Gerudo had taken from the Hylians."

"That's… sickening."

"It is. They were insane and violent. They left a single Gerudo alive and forced him to watch his people die. Prince Ganondorf."

"Oh cool, it gets worse. Make the little kid watch."

"By the time it was over, Ganondorf was crushed. You can imagine how devastating it is to watch your species murdered before your eyes. He didn't even attempt to fight back. As punishment for his entire race, they left him alive. To be the last Gerudo in existence. They tortured him, struck him, and refused to feed him. After they were satisfied with their abuse, they wanted to dispose of him. They sent him to the Twilight Realm to live out his life in a world of shadow. Of course, he didn't last very long, considering he was half-dead with no will to live."

"The people of the Twilight Realm couldn't have saved him? Healed him somehow?"

"No. The Twili refuse to associate with the Light Realm."

"What exactly is the deal with this Twilight Realm, anyway?"

"It's a sort of parallel world, a fable to most. Beings called Twili lived there peacefully until Ganondorf was banished there. Ever since, there's been… disruptions. Small groups of Twili coming to our world and rampaging. The royal family had been able to keep the attacks confidential and under control."

"Until now."

Sheik nodded. "Yes. This time, it wasn't random rioting. They have a leader."

Link thought back to Midna, hiding within his shadows. She hadn't told him much about where she was or why she was even here. In fact, she basically told him nothing.

"So… is this leader Zant? Or is it someone else?" He mentally begged the gods to not let it be Midna. If it was, he would be in some monumental trouble.

"It's Zant."

Cue the sigh of relief.

"He is far more dangerous. Even the Twili are different. Before, they were vaguely humanoid, but now… Well, you remember the shadow monster that almost killed you at Faron's spring."

"Yes. It's still pretty vivid. It'll probably be vivid in my nightmares too."

"Zant is involved in some dark magic. He's bloodthirsty and merciless. I've seen what he can do personally. He doesn't care about casualties, even when it's his own soldiers. I believe sending Ganondorf there must have made the Twili angry. It's cruel to treat their realm like some sort of punishment for the light people. I'm not sure if Ganondorf disrupted them somehow, but they're extremely angry over what the Hylians did. And now they want our world as revenge. Zant is king of the Twilight. He wants to extend his reign to include our world, too."

"So Zant is our big bad guy. Nobody else."

"Only him. The shadow monsters are nameless."

"Okay. So the weapon. You said you knew who could wield the weapon. And what's the deal with just a piece?"

"...I told you it was the full weapon. I didn't know if you would agree to helping me if it was only a fragment."

"I like to believe I am a kind and generous person."

"Be honest. Would you have still helped?"

"... Maybe. Maybe not."

Sheik rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I know where the rest of the pieces. After that, I just need to contact the Twili to wield it."

"I thought you said it was just Zant and his buddies."

"They're our enemies, but we have a Twili on our side. She was fated to be the Queen of Twilight, but Zant stole her power and cursed her. She's the one who can wield the Fused Shadow."

"Please say her name is not Midna."

Sheik's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

* * *

"Are you sure it's the same Midna?" Link prayed to the gods that Midna was a common name for Twili.

"Short floating imp, has an attitude?"

"...Yeah, okay."

"Your turn to explain, it appears." Sheik settled back in the dirt around the fire.

"So a little bit ago- I'm not really sure how long, actually- I was just a goat farmer in my town. Well, goat farmer assistant. In Ordon. It's pretty small, have you ever heard of it?"

"Yes, I-"

"Doesn't matter, anyway, I was out trying to find my horse. You know, the one you _stole_ -"

"Found. Rescued. Continue."

"Anyway, I need my horse because you kind of need one to herd goats. I found her in the village spring with Ilia. Oh, Ilia's the mayor's daughter. She's always angry and tries to take my horse a lot. Says I don't treat her right. I love Epona and all, but herding goats gets a little rough, so sometimes injuries happen and Ilia just doesn't _understand_ \- She's kinda like you in way, just can't put my finger on what it is."

"What exactly is the point of this story?"

"Hold on, I'm getting there. I was getting my horse back from Ilia- Do all of you horse thieves know each other?- Then these Bokoblins busted in. One got me over the head with a club and knocked me out. But only after I valiantly fended off two of them."

"Valiantly, I'm sure." Sheik commented.

"Then I woke up in a really gross sewer, but also in a cell? Turned out it was Hyrule Castle. They must treat their prisoners pretty badly. At least I was the only one there. But the big thing was that I had paws and a tail."

"Like a dog?!" Sheik's eyes widened.

"Yes! No. More wolf-like. Not some cute puppy, but a big scary wolf. Very masculine. Anyway. There's this annoying floating little imp there taunting me."

"And the imp is Midna, yes?"

"Yes, that one. She ends up helping me break out of the cell and get out of the nasty sewers but she was pretty rude the whole time. But we make our way up to the castle and she takes me into this room where the princess is."

"Yes, Princess Zelda. Was she alright? Any injuries?" Sheik scooted closer.

"I mean, she had this big robe over her the whole time but she seemed okay. Really sad though. It seemed like her and Midna knew each other. She said some weird, cryptic stuff. I guess royals are like that. Whenever they make political statements, it's always so vague. Tells me the world fell into Twilight how she's trapped there. We had to run away because a guard was coming. Midna took me back to the spring but in the worst way. Everything went black, and I felt like I was falling. At least if I had been a cat, I could've landed on my feet. But a wolf? I really thought I was going to die. Not exactly how I pictured dying, I thought a goat was going to get me while herding. But it's fine, and I land in the spring. There's this ball of light above the falls and it started talking. Turns out light spirits are real, and I just met Ordona. She sounded like a really nice Grandma. Reminded me of the Mayor's wife, she used to make fresh bread all the time and it was so delicious. Hey, do you have any extra snacks on you?"

"Link, you're losing me."

"Please save all questions till the end. Where was I? Ah yes, the grandma light. She tells me that I have to go to this other spring in Faron to restore the light. And if I fix Faron, then I can be human again. Turns out there's some evil bug that made all of Faron Woods go dark and Twilight-y. I get to the Faron spring and there's a light spirit there too, but almost dead. Like a candle sputtering out. Anyway, it turns out that's Faron and he tells me that there's a monster I need to kill. I have to search everywhere and Midna made me fall into that poison flood. It was awful and I don't recommend drinking any. I find the bug, kill it, then there's this burst of light that comes from the corpse. I get back to the spring and then there's this giant flash of light. When it goes away, there's Faron, all healthy. And I'm human again! Back to my dashing self, except in green hero clothes. Personally, I don't like green much. It clashes with my eyes. Maybe a nice blue color-"

"Link. Get to the end."

"Faron tells me that my wolf form is sacred. He also says the green outfit is a sign of being chosen by the gods and that it's up to me to save all of Hyrule. But no pressure, right? Then he goes away and then the shadow monster shows up. And then you show up, too. I'm sure you remember the rest. I think that's everything."

Sheik placed her head in her hands and took in a long, deep breath. "Let me get this straight. You got hit on the head, woke up as a wolf, met Midna, met Her Highness, appeared back at your home's spring, killed a bug to dispel the Twilight, then… turned back to a human."

"Oh perfect, so I made sense. I thought you might be totally confused."

Sheik sighed and stood up. "I believe you're the chosen one, but there's no need to embellish it all. Don't be ridiculous."

Link tilted his head, furrowing his brows. "Embellish? You think I'm lying?"

"I don't believe you. If you cannot take this seriously, then I have no choice but to try and fight on my own." Sheik scoffed and grabbed her armor off the ground, shoving it on. "And to think, I thought I could trust you."

"Where are you going? I'm telling the truth! I...I can prove it to you!" Link pushed himself up.

Sheik paused, her back turned toward him.

"Midna? You there?" He turned back, staring at his shadow in the firelight.

"She's been here the whole time?" Sheik whipped around.

"Yes! I mean, she said she would be." Link muttered nervously.

Sheik stared at him blankly, but lingered. He probably had a few more moments left to convince her.

"Anytime now, Midna!" Link called out. His eyes darted around the room.

Pain sparked through his hand. A flash of light caught his eye. There, on the back of his hand, a hot triangle shape seared onto his skin.

"Ach!" He cringed, gripping his hand close to his chest. It was radiating some light, enough so that he could see Sheik notice it too.

She stepped closer. "Link? Are you alright?"

The pain doubled and moved from his hand to all over his body. It was intense, burning, so much so that he dropped to his knees. Sheik's footsteps echoed faintly as she raced to him. His vision faded in and out until the world went black.

* * *

When he came to, the pain had disappeared. He felt completely normal again. His vision and hearing slowly blurred back into focus. The first thing he saw was Sheik, eyes wide and backing from him slowly, holding one of her daggers toward him. Her whole body was tense, and he could have sworn he saw her flinch.

An enemy? That must've what caused the pain. He turned quickly to see… nothing. What was she so afraid of?

A quick glance down solved the problem. Those familiar dark paws. So, Midna had listened after all. Of course Sheik was afraid of the big, dark, scary wolf.

A giggle echoed around the cave. "There's my puppy! And who is this mysterious little Sheikah?"

Link felt Midna's weight on his back, and turned his head towards her with a growl. The imp tossed him a wink before returning her attention to Sheik.

A mocking smile crossed Midna's face, her hand lowered onto the wolf's head. "Was the mean lady making you upset, puppy?"


	10. Scars

Her hand stung beneath her carefully placed gloves. Sheik knew her triforce was fighting to appear, searing into her skin. She could feel her skin split, the triangular scar reopening into a fresh wound. But she couldn't tell if the dampness she felt was blood or her own sweat.

The pain was slowly subsiding, but her hands shook nonetheless. Was it the energy, or was it just her own fear? Sheik's breathing suddenly felt so thick and heavy beneath the mask. Her fingers were barely holding on to her dagger, poised to strike if necessary. But Sheik did not trust her ability to fight, not in this state.

She had seen this wolf before. It was the same from her nightmare, the one that had tormented her before she even knew how to write. Her greatest childhood fear was this wolf, and that terror shook her to the core.

The wolf stared at her, tilting his head. It still had Link's eyes.

Think, Sheik.

Sheik slowly put the dagger back into it's sheath. She stepped away, taking a seat far back from the wolf- or Link, whichever. There was no denying Link's ownership of the triforce now. So this was the gift the gods had chosen to bestow upon him.

"Is that you, Midna?" Sheik spoke calmly, fighting to keep her shakiness from coming through.

"It sure is! Has my little puppy told you about me? Such a good boy!" Midna gently pet between the wolf-Link's ears. "But who might you be, hm?"

"An acquaintance, of sorts. I have been helping him on his quest. So far, we have collected a shard of your weapon."

Midna turned quickly to her, her smile dropping. "My weapon?"

Sheik nodded. "I know about Zant. I believe we could defeat him with your help if we collect all the pieces of Fused Shadow. You would be powerful enough to stop him."

Midna narrowed her eyes at Sheik, leaning closer over wolf-Link's ears. "And how would you know about all that?"

"The Sheikah have been told about this power, in order to protect the kingdom."

Midna eyed her closely, looking her up and down. A slow smile spread across her face. "You look a little different than the Sheikahs I've seen."

Sheik's cheeks burned red. "I-"

Wolf-Link's loud snarl interrupted her. He was turning in circles, trying to nip at Midna on his back.

"Aw, my poor puppy's cranky!" She giggled.

Wolf-Link snapped at her, nearly getting her leg. Midna floated off his back with a pout.

He headed slowly to the fire, then sat and curled up towards Sheik. His eyes almost looked apologetic.

"Dumb dog. Maybe a few pats would cheer you up?" Midna taunted.

"I believe he wants to sleep. We both had a long day."

"Well, petting him wouldn't hurt. He's very soft, I promise."

Sheik shook her head. "I'll pass. Could you make him human again? It's a little awkward with him not being able to communicate."

"I suppose." Midna sighed.

Wolf-Link let out a yelp, and the light blinded the cave. Seconds later, a very disheveled-looking and human Link had returned, clutching his hand in pain.

"Shit, the gods couldn't have made that hurt just a little less?" Link hissed.

Sheik looked back over to Midna, only to be met with blank space.

"Oh, she goes back into my shadow when I'm back to my human self. Say goodbye, Midna."

Link's shadow shaped into Midna's form, gave a wave to Sheik, and fell back behind Link.

"Ugh, finally, she's gone."

Sheik walked back over to him, taking her seat by the fire. "I apologize. While your story sounded unbelievable, I was wrong to doubt you."

"Actually, you've wounded me deeply. I don't think I can go on. You've known me for a whole twelve hours and didn't believe my every word? Unforgivable."

Sheik smiled faintly.

Link laughed. "It's fine, Sheik. It's been a crazy few days. You had to draw the line somewhere."

"It's a challenge to process, even with the proof."

"I get it. I will say though, I am hurt that you would just leave me here. Especially if you were going to steal my horse. Again."

"Rescued. And no, I wouldn't have taken her."

"I suppose that's a little more forgivable. You're on thin ice though, Sheikah."

She let out a laugh. "Come on, let's get some rest. There's more fights to be had tomorrow."

* * *

The sun poured in through the roof of the cave. Sheik rubbed at her eyes, feeling the dark puffiness around her lids. She wasn't accustomed to sleeping on the ground, even with the practice she had from the past weeks. Heavy bags lined her undereyes. Her skin hung sallow and sunken. She could feel the looseness of the Sheikah suit hanging from her body. Her last meal was, when, yesterday morning? Berries from Faron Woods, yes. Her stomach growled loudly at the memory. Between the hunger and the stiff ground, getting sleep was no easy feat.

It appeared she was the only one with such a problem. Link, on the other side of the fire, was dead asleep. Sheik wrinkled her nose at his loud snoring.

The first task of the day was to find some food. She already felt incredibly weak from yesterday's adventures, and she knew more fights lay in town. She would need some more energy if she hoped to survive.

Sheik rose up from her side of the fire, her muscles sore and aching. She felt her injured shoulder and pulled her sleeve down to examine. The skin was still an angry red, but scabbing covered the wound. It would definitely leave a scar, but she supposed that was better than losing an arm. Or worse, bleeding out.

* * *

Mother had a scar on her hand, from a Bokoblin attack when she was young.

"Never get a scar! Scars are unbecoming of a young lady. I blame my scar for the reason I had such trouble finding a suitor." Mother would say.

"She blames the scar, but I think her attitude is what scared the men away." Father would whisper loudly, making a face at Sheik.

Sheik would giggle.

Mother would glare at Father, acting all angry. But eventually a smile would cross her face and she'd laugh. "Well, you're stuck with this attitude forever!"

"Love you too, darling."

* * *

Impa would say scars showed character. Impa herself had scars all across her body. She wore them proudly.

"It's the reason I was chosen as your personal guard." Impa told her, once. "I told your father that it proved I would defend you with my life." Then, Impa would point to the scar lining her neck. It was raised and a stark white, the brightest of any of her other scars.

Sheik wasn't sure if Impa would be proud of her shoulder scarring. In one perspective, it would mean Impa taught Sheik well. But it also meant that Impa wasn't by her side to defend her.

* * *

Whatever the reaction, it was scar she would have to live with. Sheik shook off the memories and forced herself over to the nearby spring. She removed her head covering and soaked it in the water, then tied it around her shoulder. She'd have to remind Link to do the same for his foot. He probably wouldn't mind the scar, but it was best to heal quickly.

Movement in the water caught her eye as little fish swam around in the shallows. Sheik pulled out her knives and relaxed. At least she had found some breakfast.

* * *

"Link. You need to wake up." Sheik tapped him with her foot. The fish had been roasting for a while now, and the boy was still snoring.

"The goats will be fine, Fado." Link mumbled, turning away from her.

Sheik kicked a little harder this time.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Link bolted awake. He immediately turned to the fire. "Oh, breakfast?"

She nodded. It had been hard enough figuring out how to skin and gut the thing. Sheik didn't exactly have experience preparing food, much less in the wild.

"Go soak your foot again. It should be done by the time you finish."

"My foot? Oh, yeah." Link slowly brought himself up, messing his hair into a nest of tangles. "You know, it doesn't even hurt anymore." He peered closer at the fire. "Are you going to put any kind of flavor on it, or…?"

"I didn't pack a spice cabinet."

Link huffed and got up, walked outside the cave opening, and returned a moment later with a small pile of freshly picked grasses and mushrooms.

"You Sheikah must have some weird, bland food." Link shook his head, gently ripping and rubbing the mix over the fish.

Sheik turned away so Link couldn't see the hot embarrassment coming from under her mask. She did her best, but she hated the feeling of making an error. "I feel like you're using this to avoid soaking your foot."

"But the water is probably so cold." He whined.

Sheik rolled her eyes. "Go."

"Fine." He said grumpily, trotting over by the spring. He poutily sat at the edge, slipping his boot off and barely touching the water.

* * *

"Thanks again for healing my foot. I don't even see a scar." Link said, in between mouthfuls of fish.

Sheik nodded.

"I wish I could do Sheikah magic. It's kind of cool."

"Well, if it's only 'kind of' cool." Sheik laughed. "It is possible for Hylians to learn, but it takes years."

"I don't think I have the patience for all that."

"Even with the best training, a Hylian could never advance to the level of a full Sheikah. It's in our blood."

"Oh, so I couldn't even beat you? Definitely pass."

Sheik laughed. "It would take years for you to beat me in any skill, Link."

Link turned and stuck his tongue out at her.

"I started my training very young. Younger than most."

"Why?"

"I had these… nightmares, I suppose. Ever since I can remember. It became bad enough that my mentor thought it wise to start teaching me Sheikah sleep chants, and spells to ward off bad dreams."

"Oh, nightmares? I used to have bad ones, too. One time, when I was really little, I dreamt a giant ram was chasing me. I couldn't even look at the goats for weeks."

Sheik gave a weak smile. "Mine was always the same. Some think it's a type of premonition, to dream the same thing over and over again."

"Maybe. I've never had anything like that. What's the dream?"

"It's been a long time since I've had it." Sheik calculated how to explain as vaguely as possible. "Someone I know is in danger, about to be attacked by an evil creature. And I'm helpless to stop it."

"Evil creature? Like the Twili?"

"Not quite."

"Might be Zant, then."

Sheik didn't have the heart to tell him that the evil thing was him, in wolf form.

"Besides, I can't imagine you being helpless. Your aim with those knives is a little too good for that." Link said.

Sheik shrugged. "I hope so, in case it is a premonition. But I suppose we'll find out soon."

"Speaking of, should we get going?" Link wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

She nodded. 'There's an inn here in Kakariko. Soldiers frequent the bar there. I want to see if they've heard anything."

* * *

The sun was already high in the sky by the time they left the cave. Sheik mentally cursed Link for sleeping in so late. She closed up with the loose rocks, in case she needed to sleep by the spring again.

"How long to Kakariko?" Link walked over to Epona.

"Not far. You're better off leaving her here, it's just around the corner."

"Epona, I guess you're getting a break." Link patted her nose.

Sheik waved Link over and they followed the dirt road leading to Kakariko.

"Does it seem quiet to you?"

"What do you mean?" Sheik raised an eyebrow.

"Well, at least for Ordon, everyone is already up and working by now. It's noisy."

"Perhaps Kakariko villagers aren't as loud as Ordonians." Sheik teased, rounding towards the town's entrance.


	11. Blind Faith

The town was dead. Completely deserted.

Link and Sheik stopped in their tracks at the sight.

"I suppose you're right. Something is off."

"How surprising." Link said dryly. His face looked pale and sick.

"Are you alright?"

Link nodded, then in an act of irony, doubled over and clutched his hand in pain.

"Link?" Sheik crouched next to him. Her hand brushed his back lightly as he winced and groaned. A dull throbbing began to radiate from her hand as well, but not nearly as painful as Link's.

"Midna? What the hell is happening?" Link asked through gritted teeth.

Sheik shot up and looked around. Her triforce ached similar to this in Faron Woods, before she found Link. The air seemed heavy and thick around her, almost like she couldn't see clearly. It was safe to assume that Kakariko was still under Zant's influence. Sheik had hoped that it could possibly wear off, considering this town posed no threat to Zant, but no such luck.

"Link, is your experience with becoming a wolf linked to being in Twilight?"

"Yeah, I guess so-"

A loud shriek echoes behind them. Sheik jumped and turned in time to see two Twili headed toward them. They ran unnaturally, as if though their limbs were too long. These Twili were such creepy and unsettling things to look at.

One Twili unhinged it's jaw and let out another deafening shriek.

"I got it. You stay there." Sheik pulled out a dagger and threw it quickly, grazing one Twili's arm. It analyzed the wound blankly for a moment. No visible recognition of pain or discomfort showed on its face or body. It glanced up at her and launched.

Sheik started running. She needed to get them away from Link as fast as possible. Both Twili raced toward her, but the one she hit reached her first.

It swiped heavily at her body with its long, freakish fingers. Sheik dodged easily, sliding between its legs and jumping up on its back. It's skin felt strangely human. It whipped around, trying to shake her off, but Sheik quickly pulled out another dagger and stabbed it deeply into the back of its neck. The creature stopped and a horrifying gurgling sound came from its mouth. Drips of black blood fell from its mouth. Sheik jumped off its body, letting it collapse and crumple onto the ground.

One down. The other one should've caught up already.

Sheik whipped to Link. He had hobbled up against a rock, the last Twili looming over him.

Sheik broke into a dead run, jumping onto the monster with enough force for it to stumble back. It screeched angrily.

"Link, move!" Sheik yelled, grabbing onto the Twili's arm and pulling herself up onto its back.

Link managed to drag himself away from the rock.

Sheik pushed off the Twili, flipping off it's back. The force of her legs shoved it forward, directly and violently smacking into the rock. Sheik grabbed a dagger and sunk it into the Twili's spine. It crumpled instantly.

A deadly calm washed over her. She hated knowing what these things really were. Killing was never what she wanted, but how else could they survive?

Link's sickening groan shook her out of her thoughts. "Sorry-" He began to croak out.

She knelt next to him. "Your body wants you to turn, Link, let it."

With a (somewhat girlish) yelp, Link's hand bursted into an intense brightness. Sheik shielded her eyes.

When her eyes returned to focus, Wolf-Link was next to her. His panting sounded heavy, but not in pain any longer.

"Are you… better?" Sheik asked him. "I don't even know if you can understand me."

Wolf-Link met her eyes and gave her the best nod a wolf could reasonably give.

"So you can understand me?"

Another nod.

"Where's Midna? Don't you need her?"

This time, he fought to shake his head. It was funny to see his ears flop around.

"Alright. I suppose it's only me and you then. Do you remember what you did to clear the twilight, back in Faron Woods?"

Wolf-Link stared blankly up at her.

"Right. You can't really tell me in this state." Sheik muttered. "Um, is it similar to the temple? Some sort of puzzle?"

Wolf-Link's head tilted.

"Not exactly? Maybe like the deku baba, find something and kill it?"

Wolf-Link barked and smiled. Even his tail wagged.

Sheik had to fight the smile from forming on her face. She had always wanted a dog, but was far too busy for one. Such an odd way for that dream to come true. And yet, it didn't seem appropriate to pet him.

"Just one, or multiple?"

Wolf-Link barked once.

"Does that mean just one?"

A nod. More tail wagging.

"Should we start exploring, then?"

Wolf-Link barked and bounded up a few steps ahead.

* * *

Houses and shops lined the main street. As rude as it was, they searched each and every building they crossed. Absolutely nothing. A thin layer of dust covered every floorboard, every door. A few Twili monsters had been lurking around, but they had been easy to kill.

Wolf-Link walked slowly beside her, his ears down and his head droopy.

"Last building. But there are other spots of Kakariko that we can check." Sheik awkwardly tried to reassure him. "In fact, this is the inn I was talking about."

Wolf-Link perked up a little bit. He bounced up the steps and nudged the dusty door open with his nose.

Sheik stepped in after him. Once she walked in, she immediately got a headache. The throbbing matched the throbbing she still felt from her triforce.

"Link?"

She turned to look at him. He was staring dead at a corner, sniffing around.

"Link, it's just a wall."

Wolf-Link whined at her. He got closer, pawing at the dirt.

"Is it there?"

Sheik walked over to him. The wooden wall did look a little odd.

She leaned her ear against the wall and knocked. It sounded hollow, the tell-tale sign of a false wall.

"You're right, there's something behind here. But how do we open it?"

Sheik surveyed the room. It was your basic check-in and dining area. A bar lined one side of the room, with tables on the other. A stone fireplace was embedded in the wall, empty and cold.

Wolf-Link trotted in circled near the corner nervously, whining.

"I'm trying, Link." Sheik's headache felt worse and worse.

Her eyes darted around the room. The bookshelf near the door, the cold fireplace, even one of the taps behind the bar; there were too many secretive ways the false wall could open. Upon further inspection of the wall, there appeared to be no handle or lock to move it directly.

"Oh, for the love of the gods." Sheik groaned. "Back up, Link."

She pressed her back heel into the ground, driving her right leg up and slamming it against the wall. It shuddered and a few crumbles from the top of the frame rained down.

Wiping the shavings out of her eyes, Sheik tried another kick. A grunt escaped her as she stumbled back from the force.

Just a little more. She gave one more kick, the hardest she had done so far. The wall splintered down the middle, the sides caving inwards.

Sheik stepped back, panting.

Wolf-Link started barking crazily. He raced forward from behind her and began nosing the wood around, pushing the boards further apart, wiggling through the small opening.

"What…?" Sheik coughed between heavy breaths. This whole no-communication thing was quite frustrating.

Her headache seemed to transform into a migraine when the wall broke. She pushed the boards aside more and followed Link.

Inside the passage was a small, cramped room. There seemed to be a heavy haze over the entire room, much worse than outside. Sheik could've sworn she was seeing figures from the corner of her eye, but when she turned, there was nothing.

The room was littered with empty crates and apple cores. Wolf-Link had rushed past that and instead was pawing at the crates, whining and whimpering. He kept staring around as if he was seeing something she wasn't.

"Is the monster in here, Link?"

Wolf-Link turned back to her and whined. If a wolf's eyes could tear up, his sure were. He gestured with his nose to the crates.

"Is there something in them?" Sheik tried to look closer, but the haze felt too heavy to see. She squinted at them, and could almost see something… blue? Her migraine throbbed angrily at her, breaking her concentration.

"If it's not here, we have to go." Sheik turned back towards the broken door.

Wolf-Link didn't move.

"Link?" Sheik stared at him.

Wolf-link began to follow her out the secret passage lazily. As they passed the threshold Sheik could just faintly hear the whimpering and crying of a child. Her head snapped towards the direction of the sound and Wolf-Link's ears shot upward and turned. Sheik shook it off as a part of her migraine and motioned to get his attention once again.

He reluctantly turned away, his ears drooping.

There was definitely something she wasn't seeing. "I saw a path we could check. Come on."

* * *

Outside, Wolf-Link seemed sad but very determined. He was sniffing every inch on the small side path they had found.

A rickety, creepy looking metal archway lined the end of the trail. Since leaving the inn, Sheik's migraine had alleviated back into a dull headache. The further away they got the more her headache ebbed away. But the heaviness in the air seemed to thicken, and a sense of dread washed over her.

A graveyard. Just their luck.

Wolf-Link, on the other hand, seemed to perk up once he entered.

His lips bit back into a snarl, his entire stance on guard. A harsh growl escaped him as he slowly moved ahead.

"Is the monster in here?" Sheik tried to follow Wolf-Link's gaze, but she could only see the empty air. A few leaves, crumbling headstones in rows. Nothing that looked alive.

Wolf-Link barked and leapt at the air, crashing down on the ground.

Sheik pulled out her dagger, pointing it around her blindly.

"Link, there's nothing-"

Wolf-Link let out another deep, low growl, lunging again. His eyes seemed crazed and dark, his teeth snapping wildly.

He turned to her and barked. She could feel the anger coming off him in waves.

He lashed around and jumped up against a tree, growling and snarling. He kept trying to get higher and higher against the trunk, baring his teeth.

Wolf-Link's head snapped toward her. He seemed like he was trying to motion with his head toward something higher up, within the branches.

"Link, I have no idea what you want." Sheik said, exasperated.

He barked harshly at her, turning back and forth between the tree and her direction.

Frustration bubbled up in her stomach. What the hell did he want? Sheik let out a growl of her own.

Wolf-Link let out bark in her direction. His fur was up and bristly, his face fixed in it's snarl.

Sheik's hands went up. "Sweet fucking gods, Link. I DON'T SEE ANYTHING THERE!"

Wolf-Link jumped and pressed angrily against the trunk, barking repeatedly. The noise was deafening.

"Fine!" Sheik aimed quickly and threw her dagger in the general direction of the trunk, a few feet above Wolf-Link's head.

A gross smacking sound filled the air. A giant, dark bug appeared where her dagger was, struggling to fly with drips of thick black blood falling. It suffered for a moment, it's wings struggling to keep it in the air, before crashing to the ground.

Wolf-Link pounced on it the second the body hit the ground, biting and tearing it apart. The black blood gushed around his mouth. It's legs spasming for a moment before going still.

Wolf-Link nosed the corpse. What little left there was of the bug's body began to shrivel and blacken. It's abdomen cracked open and a shot of light burst from it. The heavy, hazy air that weighed down around them seemed to dissipate into nothing.

Sheik stared wordlessly. A mediocre bug? That's all the Twilight was?

Wolf-Link immediately went back to his happy, peppy demeanor. His tail wagged excitedly as he stared up at the light.

The light shot off out of the graveyard. Link let out a happy bark and ran after it, leaving Sheik alone with the dead insect.

Sheik let out a sigh, grabbed her dagger, wiped it off, and followed him.

* * *

Sheik jogged after the set of pawprints left in the dirt road going down Kakariko. Wolf-Link's four feet seemed to be much faster than her two.

She hurried all the way out of the town, around the trail they had taken, and to the fairy spring she had healed in shoulder in. Epona still grazed over in the grass.

At the top of the falls, a glowing sea creature hovered. Wolf-Link sat in the shallows of the water, listening intently to whatever the creature was saying.

Was this some sort of hallucinatory side effect from undercooked fish, or…?

The creature noticed her walking up. "Ah! So kind of you to join us, Daughter of Light."

Sheik hesitantly approached, keeping a fair distance from the edge of the spring.

"I am Eldin, light spirit of this region. The monster you helped kill was the very monster sapping my energy and plunging this world into darkness. I am so grateful for your selflessness and bravery. My gratefulness extends to you as well, Link." The spirit smiled warmly at Wolf-Link, who wagged his tail harder.

"I hope that you two continue to help Hyrule in these dark, dangerous times. I'm afraid there are more dangerous battles ahead of you. Please fight for us. The world is depending on you."

Sheik bowed her head. "We'll do our best, Great Eldin."

Eldin bowed his head in return. "Good luck, Hero and Daughter of Light."

A blinding flash burst from the falls. Sheik stepped back and shielded her eyes behind her arm, wincing. All these light bursts were not helping her headache.

"Oh, thank the gods." Link's voice groaned.

Sheik peeked out. "Link?"

Eldin had disappeared, and Wolf-Link had been replaced by Link. Or, Human-Link. Whichever.

She saw Link's body rise and fall with a giant sigh. He turned slowly to face her, rubbing his temples.

"How. Could you not. Understand. What I was trying to say!" Link huffed at her.

"What, you expected me to figure out what barking meant?"

"Yes! You saw me gesturing!"

"To empty space! I couldn't see what you were seeing, Link!"

"You're Sheikah! What, you don't have magic for that?"

"If you don't remember, I used up most of my energy fighting Twili AND kicking down a wall!"

"I would've helped if I could! You weren't much help with killing the bug, you know!"

" _I couldn't even see it!_ " Sheik yelled, crossing her arms. "How did that bug taste, by the way?"

Red crept up from Link's neck into his face. His head dropped down and he messed with his hair. "We don't really need to talk about that."

A light smile crossed Sheik's face. "Is there something wrong?"

Link trudged out of the shallows, passing by her. "Wolves have very strong taste buds, okay?" He muttered.

"How would you rate it-"

"Uh-uh! No more. That's all I'm gonna say."

Sheik let out a laugh. Link's shoulders relaxed as the tension and frustration between them melted away.

"Why were you so interested in what was behind that wall, anyway?" Sheik asked.

Link's eyes widened and he started to jog, grabbing Epona's reins and hopping on. "I gotta go!"

"Link, wait up!" Sheik raced back towards Kakariko with him.


	12. Clean Cut

Horseshoe prints were much easier to see than Link's paw prints from before. She followed him back into the inn, into the secretive hidden room. Where before was an empty room was now bursting with people.

How did they get there?

"Colin!" Link bent down. A young boy raced up and hugged him tight. "Malo, Talo, Beth!" Link called out to the other children. They, too, ran up to him with tears in their eyes.

Sheik stood back awkwardly, glancing away from this tender moment.

"Was it you? Did you save us, Link?" The boy- Colin- asked.

Link nodded. "Yeah, buddy. Oh, and Sheik here."

Sheik glanced at him in surprise. Link gave her an encouraging smile.

"Hi." Sheik gave a small wave.

The kids stared back at her blankly. The smallest one of the bunch seemed to have the most judgemental stare of all.

"Do you know these children?" A tall man in shaman's robes broke the awkward pause.

"Yeah, they're from my hometown. Ordon. Who are you?"

"I am Renado. I'm a shaman here in Kakariko, and I own this inn. Monsters invaded Kakariko and had these children in their possession. Our bombmaker, Barnes," the shaman gestured to a bearded man behind him, "was able to fight off some of the attackers and bring these children to safety. Unfortunately, we weren't safe for very long. I thank you greatly for your help."

Link nodded. "Thank you for taking care of them. Um, where's Ilia?"

"Ilia?" One of the kids asked. "You mean, she's not in Ordon?"

"Oh dear. I hope she's alright. I'm afraid these were the only children we saw." Renado said.

Link bit his lip worriedly.

"Are there more monsters out there?" An older girl asked.

"No, they're all gone. It's safe now." Sheik said gently.

"It's quite late, children. Why don't we get something to eat?" Renado escorted the kids out of the hidden area, frowning at the broken wall but not saying anything more.

The bombmaker, Renado, the children, and a group of soldiers all exited carefully.

"Would you two also like a meal? I could also give you a place to stay for the night, as a thank you."

"Oh, no, we couldn't-"

"Yes!" Link exclaimed.

Renado laughed. "Come, I'll find something to make. And would you be sharing a room, or-"

"Separate rooms, please." Sheik said sharply.

Renado nodded. "I understand."

* * *

Renado was able to put together a humble meal of potato stew. Sheik's stomach growled in anticipation. Once he announced that food was ready, she stood to grab a bowl.

"Children first." Renado announced.

Sheik halted in her tracks. Her face flashed red as she altered her path, heading over towards the restroom instead. She looked around to make sure it was empty, then let out a deep breath.

She wasn't used to… this. Sheik pulled down her mask, exposing her face for the first time since the night before. She analyzed herself in the dirty, cracked mirror above the sink. Her unfamiliar red eyes still shocked her. The burn mark on her cheek was still faintly reddened, with a single blister still raised. Her braid was pulled apart, with flyaways and messy strands everywhere. It was hard not being able to recognize herself. Sheik fought back any tears starting to form. Gods, all of this was so hard.

With a sigh, she undid the braid. She'd have to brush it out and redo it. Surely her room must have a bath in it. She had done her best with cleaning, but spring water could only do so much. Her skin needed a deep clean, preferably with soap.

Her hair reached just past her waist. Sheik ran her fingers through it, doing her best to get at least some tangles out. She'd never got to have her hair down very often. It wouldn't hurt to have it down for just a few moments, would it?

She had hidden the restroom too long already. Another heavy sigh shook her body as she composed herself. Tense, stiff body. Her mask pulled up tight. She checked her armor, ensuring everything was in the right place. Her nose wrinkled at the sight of the dirt and grime on the suit. She'd have to wash her clothing tonight, too. She recognized blackened blood splatters from Twili she had killed. Sickness rose in her stomach. She fought to stop her hands from shaking. No. She couldn't think about that right now. She had to compose herself.

"Sheik?" She heard Link's voice outside.

She exited, almost bumping directly into him.

"Oh! There you are. Here, there was almost none left." Link shoved a very full bowl into her hands.

She nodded in quiet thanks.

Link looked her up and down, tilting his head.

Nerves bubbled in her stomach. What, could he tell she was ready to break? "What are you looking at, Link?"

"Nothing." Link turned away quickly. "Um, your hair is just a lot longer than I thought it was. Also, Renado wanted to talk to us? He's at one of the tables."

Sheik frowned. Maybe having her hair down wasn't such a great idea. She pulled it up quickly into a bun and followed him to the very back of the dining area. She was grateful that it was far from the soldiers, who had taken up the bar.

"Ah, there you two are." Renado gestured to the seats in front of him.

Sheik sat down. She looked around the room briefly. No napkins? Spoons? How in Hyrule was she supposed to eat?

Link's loud slurping interrupted her thoughts. She stared at him. He had the bowl picked up close to his mouth, and was drinking from it noisily.

He took another gulp and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "What?"

Sheik shook her head. More slurping sounds erupted behind her. Apparently, spoons weren't an option here.

She could feel Mother's cursing in her mind as she pulled down her mask, lifted the bowl, and took a small sip.

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Link's bowl was already drained.

"I was wondering if you could help us with something else. See, the Gorons live just up the mountain, a short walk away. Before all these monsters, we had a very good trade system with them. But as the monsters began to invade, the Gorons stopped visiting. When a merchant traveled up the mountain to trade, they reacted violently. They sent him back with a message, threatening anyone who dared visit their domain again. I don't know why this has happened. The Gorons have always been kind to us."

"I was hoping you would consider looking into this. I'm afraid something sinister may have happened to the Gorons." Renado finished.

"Of course. We'll start tomorrow."

A relieved smile broke out on Renado's face. "Thank you, Sheikah. And you, Link. Now if you'll excuse me." Renado sat up and began collecting empty bowls around the room.

"I didn't expect you to help out like that." Link said.

"I was planning on visiting Death Mountain, anyway. The next fragment of the weapon is hidden somewhere around there. I suspect the Goron's behavior and the weapon are linked."

"Oh, so you weren't just being nice?"

Sheik took her last dainty sip from her bowl. "I can be both nice and stay on task."

"Sure." Link let out a yawn.

"I do have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Before, when we were searching. You knew the people were hiding out here, even though they were trapped in Twilight. How?"

"Oh. One of the wolf perks. Heightened senses. I recognized the kid's scents and followed it to the wall. And then once we got into the room, I could see their spirits. It's like this little blue flame-looking thing. I can sort of see their figure, and listen to their thoughts."

"Their thoughts?"

"Yeah. Um, Beth. The oldest kid. She was crying really bad. And Colin, the little boy, he was hoping I'd come to save them."

"He has a lot of faith in you."

"He does. I'm not sure why." Link glances over at the kids, his faint smile dropping. "It's hard to listen to them, scared like that."

"It did help us, though."

Link shrugged and yawned. "I guess. I think I'm gonna go sleep all this off." He stood up and patted her back, making her jump. "You should get some rest too. You look exhausted."

Sheik pulled her mask up. "I will. Goodnight, Link."

* * *

When Sheik got to her room, the first thing she did was strip off all the layers of the dirty suit and give it a deep clean. Luckily, a bath and complementary soaps were provided. She spent about an hour scrubbing each small piece of her ensemble before she finally hung them up to dry. First came gently rinsing off her armor plates: one breastplate, two cuisses for the thighs,two rerebraces for her upper arms, and finally two vambraces for her forearms. Off came her gloves, mask, hair covering, sheaths, and boots. Next, she finally got to unlace her heavy suit layer. This layer was the one woven with metal, and she felt so much lighter when she peeled it off. This piece needed lots of scrubbing to get the stains out. Finally, she undid the last layer of her ensemble, the light cotton undersuit. Luckily, this piece hadn't stained much at all. At last she was able to remove the wrappings covering her chest. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she hung up each piece to dry.

Her triforce was still covered in scabs. A little dried blood was creased within her skin. So it had reopened when she saw Link's wolf form.

Link. What was she going to do about Link?

She quickly cleansed the wound. Sheik caught a glance of herself in a small, oval mirror hanging on the wall. Bruising lined around her torso from the tightness of her wrappings. Her whole chest felt sore. She frowned, touching her newly showing hip bone and her ribs. Impa would be so unhappy to see her like this. As would Mother, although Mother had always been more partial to a more petite look. Impa would say it meant she wasn't getting enough nutrients. If her body was diminishing, then her muscles must be starved as well. Hopefully Renado would be willing to give them some food for the journey. Sheik needed to get stronger, not fragile and weak.

The hot bath was soothing to her stiff muscles. She could see the dirt coming off her body, turning the water dark.

 _How disgusting._

Sheik shook it off. She'd just take another bath after this. For the next hour, she rigorously scrubbed her body. After her skin felt raw, she began to detangle and wash her hair. She gagged as the water darkened even more. When she felt confident that every inch of dirt was cleansed, she stepped out and re-filled the tub. This time, when she sunk in, the water stayed clear.

Sheik took a deep sigh of relief. Finally, a moment to relax.

Her life had changed so dramatically over the past month. While she appreciated Renado's help, no bath could compare to her own. And the complementary soap was so drying on her skin! At home, she could have any scent she wanted, and have a selection of hydrating creams for after. She had no idea her skin could feel this dry.

And her hair! Thank the gods Impa had taught her how to do a braid before leaving. Usually, people did her hair for her. She had no idea how to do the elaborate styles that she wore daily. Or, used to wear.

Even simple things, such as being fed first. Changing into clean clothes three times a day, four if she counted sleepwear. Never worrying about going hungry, sleeping on a plush bed, not even having to clean her own things.

Sheik supposed there were a few perks, though. Now her neck didn't ache from wearing heavy jewels. Her time was much better spent without the obsession on grooming and getting ready. Her days, although labor intensive, weren't planned out for her by someone else. It was nice having some freedom. Before, she was not allowed to leave Castletown unless escorted. She had such limited interactions with people. If her life had stayed the same, she would've never met Link, even if he did drop off the royal rapier her Father had requested.

Link. What to make of Link?

He was unusually casual with the way he talked and acted. Even when addressing his wolf experience, he spoke plainly. Link's ability to adapt was useful, though. But his impulsive and reckless behavior was quite stressful, especially when dealing with his wolf form. He didn't seem to completely understand her difficulty in communicating.

At least his sword fighting skills seemed mediocre rather than hopeless. She'd have to give him some practice, or some type of instruction. He had a good foundation for his sword, though. His stance was correct, and he seemed to know the right movements. It could be useful to teach him other forms of combat as well.

Overall, Link wasn't the worst choice for being the Hero. He was a little small for it, but she supposed those muscles would develop as they fought more battles. What was important was that he possessed the desire to help and the courage necessary. It wasn't always obvious with his jokes and his nonchalant attitude, but the bravery was there. She did enjoy the light banter between them. It helped keep her spirits up, and she was sure it did the same for him. Besides, she liked to hear him laugh.

* * *

Link didn't leave his bath until the water went cold. Hot water was a luxury he only got in the summer, so he was taking full advantage of this. His muscles cried out as he lifted himself out of the bath, grabbing a towel. He towel-dried his hair aggressively then wrapped it around his waist. Link inspected himself in the mirror, his hair sticking up crazily. He really should've had Ilia cut it before he left. She was supposed to, but they kept forgetting. This was the longest it had ever been.

He looked at his arms and stomach. They definitely felt sore, and he searched for any sort of definition. Goat farming built up a little muscle but he wouldn't be against building more. He only saw a slight difference and sighed in disappointment, flopping down on the plush bed.

He hadn't felt this kind of comfort in years. Speaking of, it was probably about time for him to make a new mattress. He'd have to remember that when he made it home. If he made it home.

He didn't realize what a crushing weight the kids missing had on him. Now that they were found, he felt ten times lighter. He had even arranged for Renado to bring them back to their parents in Ordon. There was more hope that he could actually do this. Besides, Ordona had said there was only one more area of Twilight to clear. He could do this one more time.

The Hero clothes hung along the bed frame. He had rinsed them off quickly, hoping they would dry overnight. It took forever. He hadn't realized how many parts there were. The white undershirt, the thin chain mail, and the heavy canvas pants and tunic. They seemed to taunt him with the bright green, reminding him of his responsibilities.

He didn't choose this. Link did always want more than just goat farming, but saving the world was not what he had in mind. The legends always seemed to pick the most unqualified person to be the Hero, to have the Triforce of Courage. He'd never really seen himself as a brave person, just a stupid one.

Link didn't understand why Sheik would willingly choose this. Yeah, it was Sheikah responsibility, but she could be at the castle. Shouldn't she be protecting Princess Zelda? Maybe Zant had kicked her out. When he saw the princess, she had no protection. She was a prisoner of Zant. Still, he was able to reach her. Surely there was a way for Sheik to reach her, too.

Maybe Princess Zelda was protecting herself? There were always rumors about her bloodline owning the Triforce of Wisdom, though nobody had seen any sign of it for the past few generations. At least in the legends, the princess had the triforce.

Perhaps Sheik thought the best way to protect Princess Zelda was to help him. That's what she had said, anyway, and it did make some sense. But Sheik was so private that he wouldn't be surprised if she were lying.

She was always so tense and stiff and battle-ready. Even when she seemed relaxed, her hands still hovered over her millions of daggers. She was also so devoid of emotion. The most reaction he had seen from her was when she laughed and when she got mad at him in the graveyard. Otherwise, she was always straight-faced. Even if she was making different expressions, there was a mask hiding it. The red eyes hadn't gotten any less creepy, either.

He had never seen such long hair, though. All the girls in Ordon had their hair cut above their shoulders. Even the color was brighter than any other girls he had seen. It softened her eyes, made her look less scary and intimidating. He liked how it flowed down her back and over her shoulders, gracing down her frame. He fought the urge to stare. Her braid had already been long, but somehow her hair down made her look so different. Link had felt a small sad twinge when she put her hair back up. He would've liked to see it down for just a little longer.


	13. Pillow Fight

Link jerked awake, panic flooding through his body. The only light was the moonlight streaking into the room. Link always awoke with the sun; what could have happened to make him wake up? An uneasy feeling gripped him. For some reason, he felt like he wasn't alone in the room.

 _THWAP!_

"Ow!" Link's hand flashed to his cheek. The pillow ricocheted off the bed and onto the floor.

"Take that, asshole!"

"Midna?" He could barely spot the shadowy imp in the corner.

"Who else could it be, dumbass? You think Zant's armed with pillows?"

"I don't know! What are you even doing here?"

"To tell you what a fucking blockhead you are! Watching the two of you try to talk was painful. Did you really think that anything was gonna get through from barking? Come on, I'm right here! I can understand you! Face it, wolf boy, you need me."

"I thought we did fine!"

"It took hours! With me, it could've been done in half that."

"I'm trying here!"

"Trying? You couldn't even figure out you needed to transform! You were in Twilight!"

"Sheik understood!"

Midna's tone dropped low and dark. "Sheik? Sheik is a coward."

"What?"

"You're a lot dumber than you look, Link."

Link fists tightened on the blanket. "Why would Sheik be a coward?"

"You're hopeless."

Link huffed. "Is she dangerous or something?"

"Maybe not to you."

"What does that mean? What, should I ditch her?"

"Ditch her? Please. Without her, you'd probably be dead already." Midna laughed.

Link's blood boiled. "Can you, for once, give me a straight answer?"

"You want a straight answer? Fine. You need me, Hero. Sheik might be useful when you're human, but she's shit once you're a wolf. I can understand you. And I know things! I can't begin to help you if you don't try. It's not only your world you have to save. This is my battle, too."

"You think this is easy for me? I didn't sign up to save everyone! You all just keep piling shit on me. How the fuck am I supposed to know what to do?"

"Well, you better figure it out. If this is your best, Hero, then we're all doomed." With a scoff, Midna sunk back into the darkness.

Link grabbed the pillow off the ground and threw it at the corner. He let out a loud, angry groan and dived back into his blankets. Sleep always solved his problems.

* * *

Sleep may have solved his anger from the night before, but the morning brought new ones.

The inn's dining area was empty except for Sheik and Link. She hadn't even looked in his direction yet, appearing to be much more focused on the wood graining of the bartop.

"Ugh." Link let out a sigh.

Sheik didn't react.

"Ughhhhh." He huffed louder.

Not even a glance.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Sheik finally turned towards him, her head resting on her elbow. "What is it, Link?"

"Oh, me? Oh, it's nothing." Link batted his eyes. "But, since you asked…this day is the worst day ever."

She looked over at the clock hanging over the door. "It's barely seven. You've only been awake for what, an hour?"

"An hour is enough to ruin a whole day."

"You bring a whole new meaning to 'waking up on the wrong side of the bed'."

"Oh no no. You know how I woke up? In a pile of sweat! I thought I was melting! Stupid sunrise decided my window was the best and almost burnt me for it. I never wake up this early!"

"...That's it?"

"Nope. Then I tripped on a pillow."

"Tragic."

"And then! I washed my clothes last night, right? They aren't even dry. I had to squish my sweaty self into wet clothes. I feel like some kind of worm. A weird, moist worm."

"And all of that is worse than, I don't know, when you got cursed as a wolf?"

"Sheik. _A pillow_."

"My mistake, then."

"That's all you have to say? I'm hurt, Sheik."

She rolled her eyes, leaned toward him, and grabbed the edge of his tunic.

"Woah, what-"

A surge of heat ran through the fabric, traveling through the tunic and down his legs. Steam fizzed off the edges of his sleeves. The dampness of the clothes disappeared in seconds.

"Wow. Thanks."

"I had to do the same to my clothes this morning."

"Doesn't that use up energy, though? We're going to need that for today. Can't have you fainting on the job."

She shrugged. "It's alright."

He took a close look at her. He had only glanced at her all day. A pang of guilt struck him; she looked exhausted. Deep, dark bags hung under her eyes. Even her normal stiffness seemed to sag under some invisible pressure.

"Are you sure? I'm not trying to be mean, but you look a little dead."

"I'm fine, Link."

"Look, I didn't exactly sleep well either. Midna paid a visit."

"Midna?" He saw her tense. "What did she say?"

"She was just pissed at me. Lectured me about how important it is to save the whole world."

"Did she say anything else?"

Link paused. Sheik didn't really need to know everything. "Nope. Just a lot of yelling. She's got a lot of anger in her for such a tiny thing."

"If you say so." She said, but he felt her eyes linger a little too long.

Renado stepped out of the kitchen with plates, some simple bread and butter. Breakfast came and went without another word from either of them. Link could feel Sheik's suspicion hovering over him, trying to crack him, but he resisted telling her any more details. He'd have to ask Midna why she didn't trust Sheik.

By now, the children had awoken and were all tiredly sitting in the back with their own meals. Link waved a quick hello.

Renado approached them again, grabbing their empty plates. "So, what are your plans for today?"

Link hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Get supplies. Head up the mountain." Sheik interjected.

"Any way I could be of assistance?" Renado asked.

"Do you know how long it should take?"

Renado paused. "You should be able to make it up Death Mountain by sundown, if all goes well. It's a steep trail, but there's plenty of markers and maps."

"And how long do you think we'd be staying up there?"

"At least a day, likely more."

"We'll need some food. Water canteens, if you have them. A tarp or some spare sheets."

"I'll see what I can do. Do you have money?"

Sheik turned to Link. He shook his head. She turned back and sighed. "Any pawn shops around here?"

* * *

The pawn shop was a tiny, tiny shed hidden near the front of Kakariko. Renado warned them that the owner might not have reopened yet, much less have the necessities to do business.

"Sheik, I don't have anything to sell." Link tried to tell her, but she continued marching down the street.

"You may not, but I do."

"Like what?"

Sheik ignored him and stomped past him, up to the shed, and banged against the door.

"Not open!" A voice from inside shouted.

"Sheik, we can find another way-"

She pushed open the door, barging inside.

A small, frail man peeked up and glared at her. "I said, we aren't open!"

Sheik took something off her ears and slammed them on the counter. "You'll want to buy."

Link edged closer. There sat two small triangular golden earrings, with light blue gems in the middle. He wrinkled his nose; he'd seen these cheap earrings before. One time, Mayor Bo had traveled to Castletown and brought Ilia back some earrings very similar. Apparently the royalty wore them often. Queen Daphne had the design all over the castle, or so Ilia had told him. She had spent weeks gushing over the earrings before the fake metal plating had chipped away.

The old man scoffed, mirroring Link's thoughts.

"Real gold. The gems are sapphires, too." Sheik said.

The old man rolled his eyes, but grabbed them to humor her. "Don't be silly, girl."

Sheik's eyes were deadly. Link could feel the angry heat radiating off of her.

He watched silently as the man toyed with the earrings. He dropped some solution on them, then held a magnet near, put it in a cup of water. With each test his frown deepened. Finally, after peering at the jewelry with an ancient microscope, the man sighed.

"I don't normally deal with thieves, but times are tough. I'll give you five hundred for them."

"You know they are worth far more than that."

"Five hundred is all I have. Take it or leave it."

Sheik nodded and reluctantly shoved the rupees into her pouch. "Thank you." She walked toward the door then paused with her hand resting on the handle. "Could I… come back for them, later?"

The man shrugged. "If they're still here and you got enough rupees."

Sheik nodded and exited, leaving Link to trail after her.

"A thief? Sheik, you stole those?"

"No."

"Why would he say that, then?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Come on-"

"I said, _I don't want to TALK ABOUT IT!"_ She shouted.

Link held back, stunned, and watched Sheik storm out of Kakariko.

* * *

Link decided that Sheik was an awfully selfish person.

He knew she was stubborn, withdrawn, untrusting, and constantly frustrated. She always took lead without consulting him, and never wanted to talk about anything but their mission. But even with all her selfishness, he couldn't imagine her ditching him like that. And over some stolen earrings? No, something had to be up.

Only twenty or so minutes had passed before Link went to search for her. He couldn't just wait around at the inn for her to come to her senses. Link even considered transforming into a wolf to follow her scent. She had this distinct aroma that he'd never encountered on a person before; some combination of summer winds and spring grass. It would get caught in his throat when they were close. But he decided it was best to search in his normal form first. If he was a wolf, he'd have to worry about Midna's lecturing and avoiding being seen.

He trudged around outside of Kakariko until he came to the fairy spring they had camped by the other day. Sheik was kneeling, half submerged in the water, her head down in the traditional prayer. She hadn't even bothered to remove any weapons or armor. He could hear her muffled whisper through her mask.

"... you grant me the strength and determination to fulfill my duty. I pray for your blessing, and the gift of your power. Hail Naryu, for her wisdom and confidence. May you grant me the intelligence and insight to fulfill my duty. I pray for your blessing, and the gift of your wisdom. Hail Farore, for her bravery and boldness. May you grant me the valor…"

Link stood behind her awkwardly. It would be rude to interrupt in the middle of prayer.

"... pray for your blessing, and the gift of your courage. Hail Hylia, Mother to Us All. I pray you watch over our journey and offer us the lightness and goodness in all things. Protect us from the darkness and temptations of evil. Take care of the loved that we have lost, and show us the light to love on. May you rest in our hearts and blood forevermore."

Silence washed over them. He saw Sheik's body rise and fall with a heavy breath. Right as he summoned the courage to speak, she opened her mouth again.

"Hail Din, for her-"

"Ahem." Link coughed. He wasn't going to sit through all that again.

Sheik turned towards him. He couldn't tell if her eyes were rimmed red, or if they were just always like that. She didn't appear surprised to see him. If anything, she looked relieved.

"Anything you'd like to say?"

"I owe you an apology."

She had stunned him once again. It was that easy?

Sheik lifted herself up out of the water, droplets beading down her legs. "I let my emotions better my judgement. I should not have taken my anger out on you. You were only concerned, and I am grateful for your care."

"You know, you can just say sorry. Don't have to be all formal about it."

"I'm sorry." Sheik extended her hand to shake.

Link bumped it with his fist, earning a weak smile from her.

"It's okay if you stole the earrings. I mean, it doesn't seem like you, but I get it. You did what you had to."

"I didn't steal them."

"Only royalty get those. Even people in Ordon know that."

Sheik shook her head. "They were my mother's."

"Really?"

"She was rather influential in the castle. She gifted them to me when I turned sixteen."

"Oh." He felt stupid.

"They were not something I wanted to give up."

"Would she be mad or something?"

"No. She's far away, now. I don't believe I'll ever see her again."

"Well, we're traveling all throughout Hyrule. Maybe we'll run into her."

"Perhaps." She said dryly. "We should get going. My outburst has cost us enough time already."

"Sheik?" Link asked, walking beside her on the trail back to Kakariko. "Why were you praying?"

"I'm not quite sure." She paused, slowing her pace. "When I was younger, I was forced to pray often. But I was allowed to abandon that as I aged. Once this whole mess started, I began to pray at every goddess statue I saw. It's comforting, I suppose. Gives me some stability."

"I never really prayed. If we wanted something done, praying never helped. You just had to do it yourself."

"It's not about that."

"Then why do it?"

"What else is there to believe in?"

* * *

Renado accepted fifty rupees and nothing more. He looked guilty enough accepting the money, even such a small amount, but they both knew he couldn't keep up feeding and housing the children for free.

He had directed them to a much closer spring. A hot spring, specifically. A decade ago, when the Gorons were on friendly terms with Kakariko, they had dug it as a gift. Death Mountain was well known for it's abundance of hot springs. Rumor was that they were planning to open up spas, though it was likely those plans were on hold now.

Beth, Malo, Talo, and Colin had begged to come along. Link could tell how hesitant Sheik was, but this was the last time he could see them for a long time.

Link filled up the canteens and jumped into the springs with the kids. They laughed and splashed him and he would grin back, picking up each one and tossing them into the water. Sheik chose to stay on the sidelines, packing Epona's saddle bag carefully. She hadn't said much since they got back to Kakariko.

"Link?" Colin pulled on his pant leg.

"Yeah, buddy, what's up?"

"Are you going to take us home? I miss dad."

"Renado will take you home."

"Then when are you going to come home?" Beth rushed up.

"Um, not sure yet. Soon, I hope."

"Why aren't you coming with us?"

"I have to find Ilia."

"Where is Ilia?"

"I don't know yet. But I promise I'll find her."

"Why is Sheik here?"

"She's helping me."

Talo beckoned him close and whispered in his ear. "She's kind of scary."

Link stifled a laugh. "I think so, too."

"Maybe I could help, too!"

"No, Talo. It's dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"Yeah. Lots of scary monsters."

"Oooo! Have you killed any?!" Beth jumped in.

"Um-"

"That's not nice to ask." Colin said.

"Shut up, Colin! I bet he's killed like… like a hundred bad guys!"

"My dad says fighting is no fun!"

"You're just jealous because you can't fight at all!"

"Can too!"

"Can not!"

"Can too!"

"Guys, please-"

"Link." Sheik called out. "We're ready."

"Noooo!" Chorused all the kids, clinging around his legs.

"Yes." Sheik said firmly, giving such a glare that even Talo pulled away.

" _Thank you._ " Link mouthed silently.

"I'll miss you." Colin mumbled.

"Me too." The rest chimed in.

"I'll miss you all." Link bent down, wrapping them all in a hug. It was hard to stop tears from forming. "I'll be safe, I promise. Be good. No fighting. When Renado brings you home, tell everyone I love them."

Beth sniffled.

"Don't cry. You'll make me cry." Link wiped his eyes and stood. "Now, go to Renado. I'm sure he has lunch prepared for you by now."

He watched as they all toddled off, each one casting him sad puppy eyes. But he stayed firm until he saw the inn door shut.

"You care about them quite a lot." Sheik walked up behind him, holding Epona's reins.

"Yeah."

They stayed there silently together, staring at nothing. It was a comfortable, supportive silence, if there ever was such a thing. He didn't feel the need to say anything to fill the air.

Link didn't know how long they stood together for, but by the time he felt ready, the sun was already halfway across the sky. He took in a deep, heavy breath. "Let's get going."

* * *

It was dusk by the time they reached the entrance of Death Mountain, much longer than the 'short walk' Renado had implied. There was a set dirt trail that they got lost on a few times. Signs that had trail maps and directions had been hacked off or painted over, with various versions of "Get Away" scribbled across them. Luckily, the path was well worn enough that it was easy to backtrack.

The hours passed in silence. Link was grateful for it, even though it would've been the perfect opportunity to tell Sheik about what Midna said. It felt wrong keeping it from her. But he didn't feel particularly chatty after sending the kids away.

Sheik didn't seem up for conversation either. He couldn't tell if it was out of courtesy for him or if for her own sake.

Link had seen a Goron only once before, when he was very young. Her name was Volcona. They were a large, rock-shelled species, twice the height and three times the width of a Hylian. Link had always thought of them as overgrown armadillos, although that wasn't the nicest comparison. But even with their scary exterior, Volcona was one of the funniest and friendliest people he had ever met. He remembered how scared he had been of Volcona until she opened her mouth and told him stories and jokes from her travels. When Link had excitedly told Rusl about how much he liked Volcon, Rusl had laughed and said Gorons were known for their good nature.

But the Goron they were seeing now did not seem very good-natured.

Ahead, a Goron sat in front of a rocky cliff, sharpening black metal spikes. The rock wall behind him was already half full of spikes jabbed into the surface. Up on top of the cliff, just barely too high to climb, lay the entrance gates to the Goron domain. A Hylian-sized ladder now sat in splinters at the Goron's feet.

"They really don't seem to want visitors." Link whispered.

"So it seems."

"If we got past the Goron, could we use the spikes to climb?"

Sheik shook her head. "They'd burn us, even through clothing."

Link peered closer. Sure enough, he could see the heat waves rising off each spike. The Gorons were smart. Not only could they jump and climb better than Hylians, but they also had high heat resistance.

"We could persuade him to give us a lift."

"Persuade, or bribe?"

"Either one works. Come on." Sheik marched ahead.

Link trailed at a nice, safe distance with Epona in tow.

The Goron sneered as they approached. He stood at full (very intimidating) height with one of the metal spikes in his massive palms. "You're not welcome here. Leave."

"We wish to speak with Chief Darbus."

"He doesn't want to see you. Go. I won't warn you again."

"We have money."

"We don't want any of it."

"We come under the authority of King Rhoam."

"Even we know he's dead." The Goron looked uneasy. "Leave. Please. I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Sheik-" Link started.

Sheik ignored him and stepped closer to the Goron, puffing her chest.

The Goron gave her a shove, knocking her back.

Anger boiled in Link's chest. He left Epona's side and stood in front of Sheik, throwing his arm out in front of her. "That's enough. We'll be going." He held onto Sheik's arm tightly. He practically dragged her away from the fight. He didn't stop walking until he reached Epona, far out of sight from the Goron.

"Link, we need to get in." Sheik yanked her arm out of his grasp.

"Wait, wait, wait. I'm sorry."

Sheik halted. She still had an awfully dirty look on her face. Gods, those eyes were scary sometimes.

"Are you hurt?"

Sheik let out a dry laugh. "Am I hurt? Link, I'm not fragile."

"Right, yeah. Just checking. Anyway, I don't think either of us could take him on."

"Well, we have to get there somehow."

"But even if we could take him down, he'd probably be able to call for help before we could knock him out. A whole army of Gorons could crush us in seconds. I think there's a better way we can do this."

Sheik paused. He could almost see the rage leaving her body. "What's your plan, Hero?"


End file.
